Stainless steel weld metal enhanced with carbon nanotubes

This paper aims to establish the most indicated route to manufacture a nanostructured powder composed of 5 wt% Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes and 304LSS powder. Four specimens were prepared using Mechanical Alloying and Chemical Treatment (CT) with Hydrogen Peroxide ($${\mathrm{H}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{2}$$ H 2 O 2 ) as the main processes. A thermal treatment post-processing was used in half of the samples to remove the remaining amorphous carbon and to evaluate its effects. Regarding the powder analysis, attachment, amorphous carbon degree, crystallinity, and doping of the CNT throughout the metal matrix were investigated. The nanostructured powders were then inserted as a core in a 304LSS tubular rod to perform the arc welding process. The CT route eliminated the amorphous carbon and generated more refiner grains, which provided a cross-section hardness gain of more than 40% regarding the 304LSS joint. In summary, the CT route, combined with the GTAW process, provided a new method for nanocomposite manufacturing by combining shorter preparation steps, obtaining an improvement in the microstructural and hardness performance.