Nanomatrix carbon composite

A nanomatrix carbon composite, comprising:

• a substantially-continuous, cellular nanomatrix comprising a metallic nanomatrix material;
• a plurality of dispersed carbon particles comprising a particle core material that comprises an allotrope of carbon dispersed in the cellular nanomatrix, the plurality of dispersed carbon particles comprising a plurality of carbon microparticles and a plurality of carbon nanoparticles;
• and
• a bond layer extending throughout the cellular nanomatrix between the dispersed carbon particles, the nanomatrix carbon composite formed by compacting powder particles comprising a carbon particle core and a plurality of metallic coating layers disposed on the core, the metallic coating layers of adjacent powder particles joined by solid-state bonding of the metallic coating layers to form the substantially-continuous, cellular nanomatrix and metallic nanomatrix material and leave the carbon particle cores as the dispersed carbon particles, wherein the plurality of metallic coating layers comprises a first layer that is disposed on the particle core and a second layer that is disposed on the first layer, and wherein the composite is formed from a sintered powder comprising a plurality of powder particles, each powder particle having a particle core that upon sintering comprises a dispersed particle and a plurality of metallic particle coating layers disposed thereon, and wherein the cellular nanomatrix between adjacent ones of the plurality of dispersed particles comprises the plurality of metallic particle coating layers of one powder particle, the bond layer and the plurality of metallic particle coating layers of another of the powder particles, and wherein adjacent ones of the plurality of metallic coating layers have different chemical compositions, and wherein the dispersed carbon nanoparticles comprise a graphene, fullerene or nanodiamond nanoparticle, or a combination thereof, and the first layer comprises Al, Zn, Mn, Mg, Mo, W, Cu, Fe, Si, Ca, Co, Ta, Re or Ni, or an oxide, carbide or nitride thereof, or a combination of any of the aforementioned materials, and the second layer comprises Al, Zn, Mn, Mg, Mo, W, Cu, Fe, Si, Ca, Co, Ta, Re or Ni, or a combination thereof.