Synthesis and Characterization of Titanium Carbide and/or Alumina Nanoparticle Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites by Spark Plasma Sintering

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) permitted fabricating Cu-based nanocomposites with 3 wt.% titanium carbide, 3 wt.% alumina, and a novel hybrid of both has a 1.5 wt.%. This less hybrid reinforcement amount was selected to achieve better strengthening while maintaining a high degree of electrical conductivity. The physical, mechanical, and structural behavior of the composites after SPS was investigated here. Microstructural characterization showed that TiC and AlO nanoparticles are homogeneously distributed in the Cu matrix. The addition of TiC/AlO reinforcements to the copper matrix induces a significant increase in hardness, yield, and ultimate compression strength, and the ductility sustains at a comparatively great level, while the density followed a reverse trend. The mechanical test results demonstrated that the hybrid Cu/TiC-AlO composite has an increase in hardness (37.6 %) and yield strength (115.7 %) over the unreinforced Cu. The Cu/AlO composite containing 3 wt.%, AlO has a maximum hardness of 149.0 Hv and the highest yield strength of 478.7 MPa (more than the monolithic copper by ~ 83 %, and 260 %), respectively.