Microstructure and properties of Al2O3 dispersion-strengthened copper fabricated by reactive synthesis process

Al2O3 dispersion-strengthened copper alloy was prepared by reactive synthesis and spark plasma sintering(SPS) process. Studies show that nano-sized c-Al2O3 particles with 27.4 nm mean size and 50-nm interval are homogeneously distributed in copper matrix. The density of SPS alloy is about 99 %, meanwhile, the electrical conductivity of sintered alloy is 72 % IACS and the Rockwell hardness can reach to HRB 91.     

Microstructural Characteristics and Mechanical Behavior of Spark Plasma-Sintered Cu–Cr–rGO Copper Matrix Composites

Copper matrix composites were prepared through spark plasma sintering(SPS) process, mixing fixed amount of reduced graphene oxide(rGO) with the different amounts of Cr. In the sintered bulk composites, the layered rGO network and uniform Cr particles distributed in the Cu matrix. Both of mechanical blending and freeze-drying stages of the wet-mixing process obtained the Cu/Cr/rGO mixture powders, and then SPS solid-phase sintering realized the faster densification of these mixture powders. The hardness and compressive yield strength of the Cu–Cr–rGO composites depicted the higher values than those of pure Cu and single rGO-added composite, and they were gradually increased with increasing Cr. The rGO/Cr hybrid second-phases are believed to be beneficial to strengthening Cu matrix. The relevant formation and strengthening mechanisms involved in Cu–Cr–rGO composites were discussed.     

Study on Micron Porous Copper Prepared by Physical Vacuum Dealloying

Porous copper was prepared successfully by physical vacuum dealloying method using the Cu Zn alloy precursors(Cu30Zn70, Cu40Zn60 and Cu50Zn50 alloys). The micron porous copper showed a three-dimensional continuous porous structure with 1–5 μm pore size. With the increase of the Zn content in the CuZn alloy, the pore structure of the porous copper was more uniform and ordered. Temperature was the key factor for physical dealloying, and the optimized temperature was 500 °C for the CuZn alloy. The pores would fuse and disappear when the temperature was over 500 °C.Physical vacuum dealloying was an effective preparation method for porous copper, which can be used to prepare other porous metals based on the sublimation and the Kirkendall effect.     

Outstanding strength and conductivity of metallic glass composites with multiscale configuration

Cu-based composites with multiscale configuration for electrical contact applications are fabricated via a ball milling(BM)-spark plasma sintering(SPS)-aging process. Synergistic strengthening of the Cu alloy matrix by micro-scale metallic glass particles and nanoscale intracrystalline precipitation phases is realized. The annealing technique achieves the decomposition of solute atoms in the Cu alloy, ensuring the excellent electrical properties of the matrix conductive network. The composite wi...     

Development of copper coatings on molybdenum powders by electroless plating technique

Mo powders with average particle size of 3 μm were attempted to coat with copper by electroless plating technique. The effect of the solution composition and plating conditions on the electroless copper plating was studied. The uncoated and coated powders were subjected to the microstructural studies by SEM and the phases were analyzed by XRD. The results indicate that the Mo powders are coated with copper, at （he same time, Mo-Cu composite powders with Cu content ranging from 15% to 85% （mass fraction） can be obtained. The optimal values of pH, HCHO concentration and temperature are in the ranges of 12-13, 22-26 ml/L and 60-65℃, respectively. The diffusion-shrinkage autocatalytic model is suggested for the growth mechanism of electroless coating over the surface.     

Copper-Ti3SiC2 composite powder prepared by electroless plating under ultrasonic environment

In this article, a new type of Cu-Ti3SiC2 composite powder prepared using the electroless plating technique was introduced. The initial Ti3SiC2 particles are 11 μm in diameter on an average. The Cu plating was carried out at middle temperature （62-65℃） with the application of ultrasonic agitation. The copper deposition rate was determined by measuring the weight gain of the powder after plating. It has been found that the pretreatment of Ti3SiC2 powder is very important to obtain copper nanoparticles on the surface of Ti3SiC2 The optimum procedure before plating aimed to add activated sites and the adjustment of the traditional composition of the electroless copper plating bath could decelerate the copper deposition rate to 0.8 gm/h. X-ray diffraction （XRD） indicates that the chemical composition of the plating layer is copper. SEM images show that the surface of the Ti3SiC2 particles is successfully coated with continuous copper layer. The wetting property between the copper matrix and Ti3SiC2 can be improved so as to increase the interfacial strength.     

Effect of coating thickness on microstructures and mechanical properties of C/Cu/Al composites

The different copper coatings with thickness varying from 0.3 lain to 1.5 lain were deposited on carbon fibers using either eleetroless plating or electroplating method. The coated fibers were chopped and composites were fabricated with melting aluminum at 700 ℃. The effect of the copper layer on the microstructure in the system was discussed. The results show that the copper layer has fully reacted with aluminum matrix, and the intermetallic compound CuAl2 forms through SEM observation and XRD, EDX analysis. The results of tensile tests indicate that composites fabricated using carbon fibers with 0.7-1.1 lain copper coating perform best and the composites turn to more brittle as the thickness of copper coating increases. The fracture surface observation exhibits good interface bonding and ductility of the matrix alloy when the thickness of copper coating is about 0.7-1.1 μm.     

Effect of Solution Treatment on Microstructure and Corrosion Properties of Mg–4Gd–1Y–1Zn–0.5Ca–1Zr Alloy

The as-cast multi-element Mg–4Gd–1Y–1Zn–0.5Ca–1Zr alloy with low rare earth additions was prepared, and the solution treatment was applied at different temperatures. The microstructural evolution of the alloy was characterized by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and corrosion properties of the alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution were evaluated by immersion and electrochemical tests. The results indicate that the as-cast alloy is composed of the a-Mg matrix,lamellar long-period stacking-ordered(LPSO) structure and eutectic phase. The LPSO structure exists with more volume fraction in the alloy solution-treated at 440 °C, but disappears with the increase in the solution temperature. For all the solution-treated alloys, the precipitated phases are detected. The corrosion rates of the alloys decrease first and then increase slightly with the increase in the solution temperature, and the corrosion resistance of the solution-treated alloys is more than four times as good as that of the as-cast alloy. In addition, the alloy solution-treated at 480 °C for 6 h shows the best corrosion property.     

Obtaining Ultra-High Strength and Ductility in a Mg–Gd–Er–Zn–Zr Alloy via Extrusion,Pre-deformation and Two-Stage Aging

The Mg–12Gd–1Er–1Zn–0.9 Zr(wt%) alloy with ultra-high strength and ductility was developed via hot extrusion combined with pre-deformation and two-stage aging treatment.The age-hardening behavior and microstructure evolution were investigated.Pre-deformation introduced a large number of dislocations,resulting in strain hardening and higher precipitation strengthening in the subsequent two-stage aging.As a result,the alloy showed a superior strength–ductility balance with a yield strength of 506 MPa,an ultimate tensile strength of 549 MPa and an elongation of 8.2% at room temperature.The finer and denser β' precipitates significantly enhanced the strength,and the bimodal structure,small β-Mg_5RE phase as well as dense γ' precipitates ensured the good ductility of the alloy.It is suggested that the combination of pre-deformation and two-stage aging treatment is an eff ective method to further improve the mechanical properties of wrought Mg alloys.     

Quasicrystal dissolution and performance of isothermally heat-treated Mg–Zn–Y alloy

Conventional casting method was employed to prepare Mg–Zn–Y alloy only with a-Mg+I-phase; however, the grain size of quasicrystal is quite large in the ascast state.Therefore, isothermal treatment was applied to refine the quasicrystal phase.The result shows that after the Mg–Zn–Y alloy was isothermally treated at 500 °C for several hours, the coarse quasicrystal can be gradually dissolved and thus refined.Generally, the dissolving processes of quasicrystal are slow first and then accelerate;after isothermally treated with 8 h at 500 °C, the quasicrystal is almost completely dissolved into the matrix only with 1–5 lm tiny quasicrystals remained.Refinement of quasicrystal can markedly reduce the wear resistance, but increase the corrosion resistance.     

Influence of Initial Microstructure on the Strengthening Effect of Extruded Mg–8Sn–4Zn–2Al Alloys

The Mg–8Sn–4Zn–2Al(TZA842, in wt%) alloys with different initial microstructure(as-cast-AC and homogenization treatment-HT) subjected to hot extrusion. Also, the strengthening responses to AC and HT for the extruded TZA842 alloys were reported. The results revealed that the alloy subjected to HT shows finer grain size, more homogenous microstructure and weaker basal texture than those of counterpart subjected to AC. In addition, compared with TZA842-AC alloy, precipitates were finer and uniformly dispersed in TZA842-HT owing to the utilization of HT. Moreover, the TZA842-HT alloy showed higher yield strength of 200 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 290 MPa and elongation(EL) of17.9% than those of TZA842-AC, which was mainly attributed to the combined effects of grain boundary strengthening,precipitation strengthening, solid solution strengthening and weak texture. Strengthening mechanism for both alloys was discussed in detail.     

Achieving higher strength in Cu–Ag–Zr alloy by warm/hot rolling

High-strength Cu–3Ag–0.5Zr alloy plates were produced by multi-pass rolling in the temperature range of500–800 °C. An increase in strength was observed by rolling in the aforementioned range without significant loss in ductility. All the rolled samples show higher strength than solution-treated and aged samples. The maximum strength was observed for plates rolled at 500 °C with a yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of 311 and385 MPa, respectively, and retaining a ductility of 23 %.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM) studies showed uniform distribution of fine silver precipitates and high dislocation density in the rolled samples. Nevertheless, the size of precipitates and dislocation density varied with the rolling temperature. The superior strength achieved in the rolled samples is attributed to grain refinement, dislocation strengthening, and precipitation hardening. This method can be employed to produce high-strength plates of precipitation hardenable copper alloys.     

Ni-Based Metallic Glass Composites Containing Cu-Rich Crystalline Nanospheres

In this work, a quaternary Ni–Cu–Nb–Ta system has been designed to obtain composite microstructure with spherical crystalline Cu-rich particles embedded in amorphous Ni-rich matrix. The alloy samples were prepared by using singleroller melting-spinning method. The microstructure and thermal properties of the as-quenched alloy samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. It shows that the spherical crystalline Cu-rich particles are embedded in the amorphous Ni-rich matrix. The average size of the Cu-rich particles is strongly dependent upon the Cu content. The effect of the alloy composition on the behavior of liquid–liquid phase separation and microstructure evolution was discussed. The phase formation in the Ni-based metallic glass matrix composite was analyzed.     

Microstructure of phases in a Cu–Zr alloy

The morphology and crystallography of phases in the Cu-0.12% Zr alloy were investigated by scanning electron microscope(SEM), transmission electron microscope(TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscope(HRTEM). The results show that the as-cast microstructure of Cu–Zr alloy is mainly Cu matrix and eutectic structure which consist of Cu and Cu5Zr phases with a fine lamellar structure. The disk-shaped and plateliked Cu5Zr phases with fcc structure are found in the matrix, in which habit plane is parallel to {111}a plane of the matrix.Between the copper matrix and Cu5Zr phase,there exists an orientation relationship of [112]a|| [011]Cu5Zr;(111)a||(111)Cu5Zr. The space structure model of Cu5Zr phase can be established.     

Direct electroless Ni-P deposition on AM50 magnesium alloy from sulfate bath

A bright electroless Ni-P deposition on AM50 magnesium alloy in a sulfate plating bath was proposed by using direct plating process with non-chromate pretreatment. The electroless Ni-P plating on AM50 magnesium alloy has an admirable appearance and good adhesion. The results indicate that the electroless Ni-P deposition with non-chromate pretreatment has better adhesion than that of zinc immersion coating. Anodic polarization curves indicate that the electroless Ni-P deposition obtained from the sulfate bath has similar corrosion-resistance to that obtained from basic nickel carbonate bath. The deposition process generates less pollutant by a non-chromate plating bath and is suitable for the magnesium alloys manufacture because of its low cost. The hardness of the electroless Ni-P plated AM50 is about HV 720.6 and HV 969.7 after heat treatments at 180℃ for 2 h. The wear resistance of Ni-P plated magnesium alloy specimens is about 5 to 9 times as high as that of bare magnesium alloys.     

Enhancing Mechanical Properties of Mg–6Zn Alloy by Deformation-Induced Nanoprecipitation

We presented the solution of deformation-induced precipitation after homogenization to enhance the mechanical properties of Mg–6 Zn alloys. The results show that the improved strategy exhibits more effective strengthening role than grain refinement methods based on low-temperature severe plastic deformation under the same strain. The low-temperature deformation with larger extrusion ratio results in massive nano-sized precipitates and excellent mechanical properties with the yield strength of 355 MPa and the ultimate tensile strength of 405 MPa. The increased mechanical properties are strong and tough enough to resist the stress and not be worn away when the alloy nail penetrates through the pig thigh bone, potentially extending more orthopedic surgery applications for Mg–Zn alloys.     

In-situ composite Cu-Cr contact cables with high strength and high conductivity

In order to develop a new type of contact cable with high strength and high electrical conductivity, Cu-Cr alloy series were selected as materials and Cu-Cr alloy castings were produced by means of directional solidification continuous casting (DSCC) process. The results show that the fibrillar strengthening phase, 13-Cr, orderly arranges among the copper matrix phase along the wire direction; and a microstructure of in-situ composite forms, which retains the basic property of good conductivity of the copper matrix and meanwhile obtains the strengthening effect of [3-Cr phase. The production technology as well as the mechanical property, electrical property, and synthetic property of the in-situ composite contact cables was discussed.     

Fabrication and mechanical properties of high-performance aluminum alloy

High-performance Al–Cu–Mg alloy was fabricated by high-energy ball milling, sintering, and hot extrusion. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the material were preliminarily investigated. Results show that the formation of liquid phase during sintering promotes the densification of the aluminum powders. A97.1 % theoretical density is achieved in this alloy after sintering. The material shows excellent mechanical properties after extrusion and heat treatment. The ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of the extruded samples with heat treatment are 613 and 465 MPa, respectively.     

Study on the Technology of Ni-P Electroless Plating on the Mg Alloy

Base on the analysis for the corrosion mechanism of the Mg alloys,the technology of Ni-P directly electroless plating on the Mg-10Li-1Zn alloys was studied.The effects of the pre-treatment on the morphologies of substrate and plating films were investigated,The result shows that Ni-P electroless plating could be divided two steps:the induction period and the rapid deposition period.The Ni-P film is amorphous structure:A excellent Ni-P coating can be obtained under the optimal parameter.The Ni-P coating can obviously improve the corrosion resistance of Mg alloy in variety environment.     

Microstructure and Nano-hardness of Pure Copper and ODS Copper Alloy under Au Ions Irradiation at Room Temperature

The microstructure and nano-hardness of the pure copper and oxide dispersion-strengthened(ODS) copper alloy subjected to 1.4 Me V Au ions irradiation at room temperature were investigated. After irradiation, dislocation-loops form in both materials, while voids can only be generated in the pure copper. Compared with the irradiated pure copper, larger average diameter and lower number density of irradiation-induced dislocation-loops were detected in the ODS copper alloy, revealing that high-density dislocation and large volume of Al_2O_3 particles existing in the ODS copper alloy can act as effective sinks for the irradiation-induced defects. It was also detected that irradiation hardening in the ODS copper alloy is lower than that in the pure copper. The microstructure and nano-hardness results reveal that the ODS copper alloy has a better irradiation tolerance than the pure copper. In addition, the average diameter of the Al_2O_3 particles in the ODS copper alloy decreases after irradiation, because the Al–O chemical bonds are decomposed and the atoms are redistributed in the matrix during the irradiation process. This work reveals that the irradiation tolerance of the copper can be effectively enhanced by adding nano-sized Al_2O_3 particles into the matrix.