Patent ID: 8171979

Claim:
A method for producing a carbon nanocomposite metal material, comprising the steps of: preparing a matrix metal stock of Mg or Mg alloy; preparing a microparticulate-coated carbon nanomaterial by bonding carbide-forming microparticles, which have an element that reacts with carbon to generate a compound, to the entire surface of a carbon nanomaterial; mixing the microparticulate-coated carbon nanomaterial and the matrix metal stock; pre-molding by packing the resulting mixture to form a preform; heating the resulting preform to a temperature that is at or above the melting point of the matrix metal stock in a vacuum, inert gas, or non-oxidative gas atmosphere, and maintaining the heating temperature for a set time period so as to cause the matrix metal stock to be completely melted and then to infuse into the microparticulate-coated carbon nanomaterial; compacting the resulting heat-treated preform by performing cooling to a temperature that allows hot working of the matrix metal stock and that allows a surface layer of the heat-treated perform to thoroughly solidify to prevent the matrix metal stock in a liquid phase from leaking out from the heat-treated preform under compression, and performing compression for a prescribed time period at this temperature; and cooling the resulting compacted body.