A high strength and high electrical conductivity copper based composite enhanced by graphene and Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles

The rapid development of electrical and electronic engineering requires to further surmount the trade-off between the electrical conductivity and strength of Cu matrix composite. In this study, the surface of Cu - Al 2 O 3 powder is selective for carbon sources, and only alpha-naphthol can prepare graphene. Graphene and Al 2 O 3 particles are simultaneously incorporated into Cu matrix by hot-press sintering Cu - Al 2 O 3 powders by internal oxidation coated with in-situ grown graphene. This composite exhibits a good combination of strength and conductivity (600 MPa of ultimate tensile strength and 81.7 % IACS of electrical conductivity) due to synergistic effect of graphene and Al 2 O 3 particles. This composite fabricated by such synergistic more effectively retains the microstructure induced by plastic deformation during the cold-rolling process. Both graphene and Al 2 O 3 particles uniformly distribute in Cu matrix. Coherent Al 2 O 3 particles and graphene in situ grown can be well enhance to Orowan looping mechanism effect, and the addition of graphene in Cu matrix composite with Al 2 O 3 particles can improve dislocation strengthening and dispersion strengthening at the same time. Our study provides an effective route to achieve simultaneously high strength and conductivity of Cu matrix composites.