Abstract

Light metal matrix nanocomposites (LMMNCs) are advanced materials in which nanosized ceramic particles are
reinforced in Al/Mg matrices. In conventional metal matrix composites (MMCs), the incorporation of micron-
sized reinforcements usually contributes to the high hardness and ultimate strength, when compared to the
unreinforced base material. However, most of these composites do not show plastic deformation (little or no
yield) and exhibit drastic reduction in ductility. This poses a major limitation for MMCs to be used in real-time
applications. To overcome this drawback composites with nanoscale reinforcements are being developed. From
research studies, it has been established that LMMNCs are better materials as they show improved strength as
well as high ductility resulting in enhanced toughness. However, for improvement in properties to occur, the nano-
reinforcements should be distributed uniformly in the matrix, without any clustering or agglomeration. Hence,
the greatest challenge in obtaining high-performance nanocomposites and realizing their application potential
invariably lies in obtaining a uniform distribution of nanoparticles. In this paper, the state-of-the-art processing
methods employed in the advancement LMMNCs and the challenges encountered are presented.