In-situ fabrication of graphene-nickel matrix composites

•Graphene-nickel composites have been fabricated by growing graphene in nickel.•In-situ grown graphene distributes uniformly in nickel serving as reinforcement.•The fabricated composites exhibit significantly improved mechanical properties.•This method has advantages of graphene growth and nickel sintering in one-step. Graphene-nickel (G-Ni) matrix composites were fabricated through in-situ growing graphene in bulk nickel matrix using a powder metallurgy method. Sucrose as precursor of graphene was dispersed into nickel powders to grow graphene, avoiding a traditional dispersion process of graphene in metal matrix. Multi-layer graphene was synthesized in-situ in nickel matrix, meanwhile nickel matrix was densified at high temperature. The nickel matrix acts as support and catalyst of graphene, and graphene grow in-situ in nickel matrix serving as reinforcement. This in-situ growth method offers a homogeneous dispersion of graphene and well-contacted interfaces between graphene and nickel matrix, which provides a guarantee for high load transfer from nickel matrix to graphene.