Aluminum-carbon compositions

1. An aluminum-carbon composition comprising:

aluminum chemically bonded to carbon, wherein the aluminum and the carbon form a single phase material formed by mixing carbon into the aluminum while molten and applying electrical energy thereto, using an arc welder, to initiate an endothermic reaction between the aluminum and the carbon, characterized in that the single phase material is meltable and that the carbon does not phase separate from the aluminum when the single phase material is subsequently re-melted or is deposited as a film of the single phase material by magnetron sputtering or e-beam evaporation;

wherein the single phase material is not aluminum carbide, Al 4 C 3 , nor an Al—C metal matrix composite, and has a nanoscale distribution of carbon interconnected by a network of carbon as viewed by a scanning electron microscopy image at one micrometer.

2. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 1 wherein the aluminum is an aluminum alloy.

3. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 1 wherein the carbon comprises about 0.01 to about 40 percent by weight of the material.

4. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 1 wherein the carbon comprises at least about 1 percent by weight of the material.

5. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 1 wherein the carbon comprises at least about 5 percent by weight of the material.

6. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 1 wherein the carbon comprises at most about 10 percent by weight of the material.

7. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 1 wherein the carbon comprises at most about 25 percent by weight of the material.

8. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 1 further comprising an additive that imparts a change to a physical or mechanical property of the composition.

9. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 1 wherein the carbon is a high surface area carbon.

10. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 9 wherein the high surface area carbon is a powdered bituminous-based activated carbon.

11. An aluminum-carbon composition consisting essentially of:

aluminum chemically bonded to carbon, wherein the aluminum and the carbon form a single phase material formed by mixing carbon into the aluminum while molten and applying electrical energy, using an arc welder, thereto to initiate an endothermic reaction between the aluminum and the carbon, characterized in that the single phase material is meltable and that the carbon does not phase separate from the aluminum when the single phase material is subsequently re-melted or is deposited as a film of the single phase material by magnetron sputtering or e-beam evaporation;

wherein the single phase material is not aluminum carbide, Al 4 C 3 , nor an Al—C metal matrix composite, and has a nanoscale distribution of carbon interconnected by a network of carbon as viewed by a scanning electron microscopy image at one micrometer.

12. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 11 wherein the aluminum is an aluminum alloy.

13. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 11 wherein the carbon comprises about 0.01 to about 40 percent by weight of the material.

14. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 11 wherein the carbon comprises at least about 1 percent by weight of the material.

15. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 11 wherein the carbon comprises at least about 5 percent by weight of the material.

16. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 11 wherein the carbon comprises at most about 10 percent by weight of the material.

17. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 11 wherein the carbon comprises at most about 25 percent by weight of the material.

18. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 11 wherein the carbon is a high surface area carbon.

19. The aluminum-carbon composition of claim 18 wherein the high surface area carbon is a powdered bituminous-based activated carbon.