Investigation on Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Cr2O3 Composites Fabricated by a Novel Supercritical Water Liquid Phase In Situ Oxidation Method
摘要
In this paper, two kinds of Cu-Cr2O3 composites with different Cr2O3 contents were prepared by a novel supercritical water liquid phase in situ oxidation (SW-LIO) method and spark plasma sintering (SPS). The results show that the concentration of Cr2O3 in Cu-Cr2O3 composites is 1.74 wt.% and 4.60 wt.%, respectively. The average particle size of the reinforced phase is 11.82 nm, which is uniformly dispersed in the copper matrix. The bonding interface between Cu matrix and Cr2O3 particles is a semi-coherent interface, which is beneficial to improve the comprehensive properties of the material. With the increase in Cr2O3 content, the hardness and tensile strength of the composite are increased. The hardness and tensile strength of Cu-1.74 wt.% Cr2O3 are 104.9 HV and 306.11 MPa, respectively, while those of Cu-4.60 wt.% Cr2O3 are 121.7 HV and 338.49 MPa, respectively. At the same time, the conductivity of the composite decreases slightly with the increase in Cr2O3 content, from 76.4%IACS to 73.4%IACS. It is worth noting that the composite material shows excellent high temperature properties, and its softening temperature is higher than 900 °C. This novel SW-LIO technology can prepare high performance composite materials at low temperature, which has the outstanding characteristics of green environmental protection, low energy consumption, and high efficiency, and therefore it can provide a new way for the preparation of advanced composite materials.