Fabrication and mechanical properties of nano‑carbon reinforced laminated Cu matrix composites

Inspired by the hierarchical structure of the pearl shell and its related multi-scale toughening mechanism, based on the combination of powder metallurgy technology and spark plasma sintering, a layered graphene and carbon nanotubes hybrid reinforced Cu matrix composite material was successfully prepared. Compared with other conventional Cu matrix composite materials, the compressive elongation of the bionic materials is significantly improved, and all of them are above 20%, which is attributed to the effective crack deflection and the pull-out of the reinforcing phase. In terms of overall strength and toughness, (0.8 wt% MWCNTs+0.2 wt% GNPs)/Cu has the best performance. Its tensile strength, compressive strength and compressive elongation are 103.63 MPa, 202.32 MPa and 33.49% respectively. The large grain size in the laminates is conducive to the movement of dislocations, while the interlayer interface and nanocrystalline grains hinder the movement of dislocations in the direction perpendicular to the laminates.