Cu/C composites with a good combination of hardness and electrical conductivity fabricated from Cu and graphite by accumulative roll-bonding

Cu/C composites were prepared from Cu and graphite by accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) up to 30 cycles (N) with a 50% thickness reduction per cycle at room temperature. The microstructure and properties of the Cu/C composites were investigated. Results showed that ARB can remarkably decrease the size of graphite and improve the dispersion of graphite in the Cu matrix. Moreover, significant thickness reduction (down to similar to 5 graphene layers) of the graphite was found in the Cu/C composites fabricated by ARB. The microhardness of the Cu/C composites increases with increasing N and is similar to 3.3 times that of pure Cu for N = 30. The electrical conductivity of the Cu/C composites decreases slightly with increasing N, with a minimum of similar to 90% IACS for N = 30. Our study indicated that ARB can be an effective method for fabrication of Cu/C composites from Cu and graphite with a combination of hardness and electrical conductivity better than or as good as that of carbon nanotube or graphene reinforced Cu matrix composites as reported. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.