Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

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Materials Today Communications

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Enhanced mechanical and tribological properties of copper matrix

composites reinforced by copper-coated graphite and Ti3AlC2
Xiao Liu a, b, Xinjian Cao a, b, *, Xiaoyang Yi c, Haizhen Wang c, Jie Guo a, b, Jun Yang a, b, *
a
Shandong Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Green Manufacturing at Yantai, Yantai 264006, China
b
State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
c
College of Nuclear Equipment and Nuclear Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: To solve the poor mechanical properties of graphite-reinforced copper matrix composite, the effect of Ti3AlC2
Ti3AlC2 content on the mechanical properties and dry sliding properties of copper-coated graphite reinforced copper
Copper-coated graphite matrix composites was investigated. The results show that the in-situ TiCx-Ti3AlC2-Cu(Al) gradient interface is
Copper matrix composites
formed due to the decomposition of partial Ti3AlC2 particles, which can improve the interface bonding strength
Tensile strength
Wear behavior
and enhance the mechanical properties of the composites. With the Ti3AlC2 content increasing, the hardness,
yield strength, and tensile strength of the composites increase, while the elongation decreases. The composite
reinforced by copper-coated graphite and 5 wt% Ti3AlC2 shows a higher yield strength and tensile strength,
increased by 86.2% and 28.6% over the neat Cu, respectively. Besides, the composites exhibit better wear
resistance compared with the neat Cu. The wear rate of the composites decreases as the increase of Ti3AlC2
content. The wear mechanism changes from delamination wear of pure Cu to adhesive wear, abrasive wear, and
oxidative wear for the composites reinforced by copper-coated graphite and 10 wt% Ti3AlC2.

1. Introduction How to simultaneously enhance the tensile strength and wear

resistance for Gr/Cu composites remains a challenge. Recently, surface
Copper and copper alloys have been widely applied in the field of metallization of the Gr or adding the second phases into the Gr/Cu
aerospace, high-speed rail, electronics, and other industries due to their composites has been an effective method to improve the bonding
excellent electrical, and thermal conductivity, and corrosion resistance strength and enhance the strength of the composites [19–21]. Wang
[1–4]. Nevertheless, the low hardness, low strength, and poor wear et al. [22] prepared tungsten-copper coated graphite flakes reinforced
resistance limit their use in high-end mechanical parts such as panto­ copper matrix composites by vacuum hot-pressing sintering and re­
graphs, bearings, brushes, etc [5–7]. Copper matrix composites with the ported that the W-Cu coating could enhance the interfacial bonding,
advantages of high strength, high conductivity, and better wear resis­ tensile strength, and flexural strength of the composites. Jamwal et al.
tance have been used in the fields of aerospace, automobile, and elec­ [23] studied the effect of SiC content on the tribological and compres­
tronics [8–11]. In the past few decades, graphite (Gr) has been sion behavior of the composites and found that SiC particles could bal­
recognized as a solid lubricant in improving the tribological properties ance the negative effect of the Gr on the mechanical properties of the
of copper matrix composites due to its low cost, excellent electrical and composites. Recently, the Ti3AlC2 particle has been recognized as one of
thermal conductivity, good lubrication performance, and chemical sta­ the ideal candidates for copper matrix composites due to its excellent
bility, which has drawn consider attention of researchers [12–14]. mechanical properties, high conductivity, and good interface bonding
Unfortunately, copper matrix composites reinforced by Gr usually status with copper, which has drawn considerable attention from re­
present low strength due to the weak interface wettability between Gr searchers [24–26]. Liu et al. [27] fabricated 20 wt% Ti3AlC2/Cu com­
and copper, leading to the reduction of strength and plasticity of the posites using a spark plasma sintering process, and the microhardness
composites [15–17]. Therefore, improving interface wettability and and the compressive strength of composites were enhanced compared
enhancing the properties of the Gr/Cu composites is crucial for future with neat Cu. Wei et al. [28] reported that the presence of Ti3AlC2 could
applications [18]. enhance the interface bonding strength between the copper matrix and

* Corresponding authors at: Shandong Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Green Manufacturing at Yantai, Yantai 264006, China.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (X. Cao), [email protected] (J. Yang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtcomm.2024.108421
Received 18 October 2023; Received in revised form 1 February 2024; Accepted 17 February 2024
Available online 19 February 2024
2352-4928/© 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
X. Liu et al. Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

Gr, and improve the lubrication properties and wear resistance of the the wear tests was set to 5 mm, the frequency was 2 Hz, the duration
composites. However, the failure of materials commonly arises under time was 30 min, and the applied load was 5 N. Before testing, the wear
tensile stress. There is a lack of systematic reports on the interface samples with a diameter of 30 mm and thickness of 5 mm were polished
characteristics, mechanical properties, and wear resistance of with sandpaper grades of 240, 600, 1200, and 1500 # followed by
graphite-copper matrix composites with different amounts of Ti3AlC2. alcohol cleaning. The friction coefficient of samples was directly
In this work, copper-coated Gr was used to strengthen the interface collected during the wear test. The wear rates (W) of samples were
bonding between copper and Gr, and Ti3AlC2 was added to improve the calculated using the following Eq. (1).
strength of the composites. Copper matrix composites reinforced by
copper-coated Gr and Ti3AlC2 were fabricated using the hot-pressing W = V/(F⋅S) (1)
sintering. The study systematically investigated the effect of Ti3AlC2 .
content on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and wear Where V stands for wear volume (mm3), F is normal load (N), and S is
behavior of the composites, providing a reference for the future design sliding distance (m).
and application of copper matrix composites.
3. Results and discussion
2. Experiment
3.1. Microstructural analysis
The electrolytic copper powders (325 mesh, Hunan Lei Zeng Tech­
nology Co., LTD), copper-coated graphite powders (300 mesh, 55 wt% Fig. 1 presents the SEM images of electrolytic copper powders,
Cu and 45 wt% C), and Ti3AlC2 powders (purity ≥98, Shanghai Yao Tian Ti3AlC2 powders, and copper-coated graphite powders with the distri­
Nano Material Co., Ltd) were used as raw materials. The composition of bution of C and Cu elements. From Fig. 1(a)(b), the electrolytic copper
electrolytic copper powder was as follows (wt%): 99.85 Cu, 0.0243 Pb, powders are dendritic in shape, while the Ti3AlC2 powders display
0.0017 Fe, 0.0585 O, and others. irregular, granular, and lath shapes. Analysis of the distribution of C and
Table 1 presents the raw materials content of all samples. The Cu elements reveals that copper particles are distributed on the surface
preparation of copper matrix composites mainly includes three stages. of the graphite powders, and the copper-coated graphite powders are
Firstly, a ball milling process was used to mix raw materials. The powder lamellar, as shown in Fig. 1(c).
mixture of Ti3AlC2, electrolytic copper, and copper-coated graphite The phase composition of all the as-sintered samples was identified
powders was put into 304 stainless steel jars and mixed using a planetary by an X-ray diffractometer, as presented in Fig. 2. From Fig. 2(a), the
ball mill at 180 rpm for 8 h with weight ratio of ball to powder of 5:1. diffraction peaks of Cu were detected for all the as-sintered samples,
Secondly, the powders mixture was poured into a Cr12MoV die of Φ while trace TiCx and Ti3AlC2 diffraction peaks can only be identified in
30 mm and was cold pressed into a green compact at a pressure of the C5, C7.5, and C10 samples. The presence of the TiCx phase was
300 MPa for 5 min. Thirdly, the green compact was sintered at 1223 K attributed to the decomposition of Ti3AlC2 during the sintering process.
below 1× 10− 2 Pa by a vacuum hot-pressing under the pressure of However, TiC and Ti3AlC2 phases could not be detected in the C2.5
25 MPa followed by furnace cooling. The size of as-sintered samples sample because the low content of Ti3AlC2 in the C2.5 sample was
produced by the vacuum hot-pressing sintering was Φ 30 mm × 40 mm. beyond the detection range of XRD testing equipment. It was worth
The hardness of samples was measured by a Vickers hardness tester noting that the diffraction peak positions of the Cu phases in the copper
(HB-3000) with an applied load of 4.9 N, and the dwell time was 15 s. To matrix composites shift towards a low angle compared with neat Cu and
ensure the accuracy of the measurement results, each sample was C0 samples, as presented in Fig. 2(b), which indicates that Al elements
measured 5 times and its average value was taken. The phase identifi­ that dissolve from Ti3AlC2 diffuse into Cu phases to form a Cu (Al) solid
cation of these samples was carried out by an X-ray diffractometer (XRD- solution. Moreover, with increasing the Ti3AlC2 content, the peak
6100, SHIMADZU) with Cu Kα radiation. Based on the intercept method, broadening of the Cu phases can also be observed in Fig. 2(b). The dif­
the grain size of the matrix in the composites was measured by ImageJ ference in peak broadening in composites is due to the grain size and
software. Microstructural analyses were performed by field emission lattice strain [29].
scanning electron microscopy (CLARA GHM, TESCAN) equipped with Fig. 3 displays the metallographic photos of the representative as-
an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The tensile samples with a prepared samples after etching. From Fig. 3, the grain size of compos­
gauge length of 7 mm, width of 2 mm, and thickness of 1.5 mm were ites is obviously reduced compared with neat Cu, which is attributed to
machined via electric discharge wire cutting and polished with sand­ the reinforcements acting as nucleation sites to prevent the growth of
papers to obtain smooth surfaces. The tensile test was conducted using a recrystallized grains. The average grain size of neat Cu is 6.4 μm, while
universal testing machine (ETM504C, WANCE) at a loading rate of that of C2.5 and C7.5 is 3.6 μm and 2.4 μm, respectively. Therefore, the
0.5 mm/min under room temperature. For each group, three tensile tests incorporation of Ti3AlC2 can reduce the grain size of composites,
were carried out. enhancing their mechanical properties.
Reciprocating sliding tests were selected to evaluate the wear To observe the distribution of Gr, Ti3AlC2 particles in the composites,
behavior of copper matrix composites. The wear properties of compos­ the micromorphology and corresponding element distribution of the as-
ites were conducted using a CSM wear testing machine (TRB3, Anton prepared composites was performed, as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. It can
Paar) for testing at room temperature. The AISI 52100 ball with a be seen that Gr, Ti3AlC2 particles are both uniformly distributed in the
diameter of Φ 6 mm was chosen as a counterpart. The stroke length of matrix and particle agglomeration are not observed in Fig. 4. No voids
can be found at the interface between Ti3AlC2 and Cu. However, there
are unbonded zones at the interface between the Gr and copper matrix
Table 1 due to the bonding mode of the interface between graphite and the
Raw materials content of all samples. matrix being mechanical bonding. The poor interface bonding strength
Samples Ti3AlC2 (wt%) copper-coated graphite (wt%) Cu (wt%) can reduce the strength and toughness of composites. From the EDS
Cu 0 0 100 results of Fig. 5, the black area is graphite, the light gray area is copper
C0 0 2.2 97.8 matrix, and the dark gray area is Ti3AlC2. The Al elements are uniformly
C2.5 2.5 2.2 95.3 distributed in the matrix due to the Al elements from the decomposition
C5 5 2.2 92.8 of Ti3AlC2 dissolving into the matrix.
C7.5 7.5 2.2 90.3
To further study the existing state of Ti3AlC2 and TiCx particles in the
C10 10 2.2 87.8

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X. Liu et al. Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

Fig. 1. SEM images of the electrolytic copper powders (a), Ti3AlC2 powders (b), and copper coated graphite powders with the distribution of C, Cu elements (c).

Fig. 2. XRD patterns of all the as-sintered samples (a) and enlarged image of the red box (b).

Fig. 3. Metallographic photos of the representative as-prepared samples after etching Cu (a), C0 (b), C2.5 (c), and C7.5 (d).

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X. Liu et al. Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

Fig. 4. The micromorphology of the as-prepared composites, C0 (a), C2.5 (b), C5 (c), and C7.5 (d).

Fig. 5. Surface morphology and corresponding element distribution for the C2.5 sample.

composites, the SEM image with high magnification and corresponding larger Ti3AlC2 particles demonstrate a TiCx-Ti3AlC2-Cu(Al) gradient
EDS mapping analysis of the C2.5 sample is presented in Fig. 6. The interface features where the black TiCx particles are distributed within
analysis of the distribution of Ti, C, and Al elements shows that the the grey Ti3AlC2 particles and Al diffuse into the matrix. The formation

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X. Liu et al. Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

Fig. 6. SEM image with high magnification (a) and corresponding EDS mapping analysis.

of in-situ TiCx-Ti3AlC2-Cu(Al) gradient interface is attributed to the higher than that of neat Cu. With the Ti3AlC2 content increasing, the
reactivity between partial Ti3AlC2 and Cu during the sintering process, hardness of the composites increases gradually. For instance, the hard­
Al atoms in Ti3AlC2 escaping from the lattice and TiCx remains, and Al ness of C2.5 is 99 HV, increased by 39.4 over the neat Cu. The
atoms diffuse into the matrix form Cu(Al) solid solution. Because of the improvement in hardness is not only related to the high hardness of
existence of Cu(Al) solid solution, the interface between Ti3AlC2 and Cu Ti3AlC2 and TiCx particles but also the solution strengthening of the Al
becomes metallurgical bonding. It can be indicated that the load can be elements. From Fig. 7(b), the tensile strength and elongation of the
effectively transferred to the reinforcements via the strong interface and copper-coated Gr/Cu composite are both decreased compared with the
enhance the mechanical properties of the composites. Liu et al. [30] neat Cu. The incorporation of Ti3AlC2 into copper-coated Gr/Cu com­
have reported that the in-situ TiCx-Ti3AlC2-Cu(Al) gradient interface posites can significantly enhance their tensile strength and yield
contributed to enhancing the interface bonding strength and thus strength. The yield strength and tensile strength of the C5 sample are
enhancing the mechanical properties of the composites. 235.7 MPa, and 285.4 MPa, increased by 86.2% and 28.6% compared
with neat Cu, respectively. With Ti3AlC2 content increasing, the strength
of the composites increases, while the elongation decreases. The exis­
3.2. Mechanical properties tence of reinforcements disrupts the continuity of the matrix and causes
a decrease in the elongation of the composites. Moreover, as the increase
To explore the mechanical properties of the composites reinforced by of Ti3AlC2 content, the density of the composites increases first and then
copper-coated Gr and Ti3AlC2, the hardness and tensile properties of the decreases. However, the density of all as-prepared samples is above
composites are carried out, as present in Fig. 7. As can be seen from 97%. The detailed values of density, hardness, yield strength, tensile
Fig. 7(a), the hardness of copper-coated Gr/Cu composite is 68 HV, strength, and elongation of the as-prepared samples are shown in
which is slightly lower than the hardness of neat Cu, due to the lower Table 2.
hardness of Gr. However, when the Ti3AlC2 particles are incorporated To reveal the strengthening mechanism of hybrid particle-reinforced
into copper-coated Gr/Cu composites, the hardness of the composites is

Fig. 7. Vickers hardness (a) and engineering tensile stress-strain curves (b) of all the as-prepared samples.

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X. Liu et al. Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

Table 2 strength of the composites. The dislocation strengthening (Δσρ ) is

Mechanical properties of all as-prepared samples. calculated using the Formula [36].
Specimens Density Hardness Yield Tensile Elongation
(%) (HV) Strength Strength (%)
Δσρ = αGb(ρc 1/2 − ρm 1/2 ) (4)
(MPa) (MPa)
Where G is the shear modulus of Cu (45 GPa), α is a constant (1.25),
Cu 98.4 71±1.4 126.6±3.5 222.0±7.0 24.8±0.57
±0.52
and b is the burger vector (0.255 nm) [37].
C0 97.2 68±0.4 108.7±2.1 180.0±4.6 13.9±0.21 Fig. 6 shows that partial Ti3AlC2 decomposes into TiCx and Al, and Al
±1.0 diffuses into the matrix to form a Cu(Al) solid solution. The formation of
C2.5 97.9 99±6.3 206.7±3.2 280.3±3.2 12.2±0.20 Cu(Al) solid solution can affect the strength of the composites. The
±0.61
improvement in the yield strength of composites induced by solution
C5 98.2 112±2.7 235.7±4.2 285.4±1.5 7.2±0.21
±0.60 strengthening (Δσss ) can be calculated using the following formula [38].
C7.5 97.6 131±2.9 258.3±4.5 315.3±5.7 6.0±0.15
Gεss 3/2 C1/2
±0.81 Δσss = M (5)
C10 97.3 168±7.1 271.3 335.7±16.2 3.2±0.15 700
±0.54 ±10.0
εG
εss = | − β0 εb | (6)
1 + 12|εG |
composites, the tensile fracture morphology of the as-prepared copper-
coated Gr/Cu composites with different amounts of Ti3AlC2 is observed. 1 dG
εG = (7)
Many pulled-out of Gr are observed in Fig. 8(a1, a2), indicating that G dC
there is a weak interface bonding strength between Gr and matrix, which
can seriously affect the mechanical properties of composites. From Fig. 8 1 da
εb = (8)
(b1, b2), there are abundant dimples and tearing ridges on the fracture a dC
surface of the C2.5 sample, which are characteristic of ductile fracture. where εss is the mismatch strain caused by the lattice distortion of
As illustrated in Fig. 8(c1, c2, d1, d2, e1, and e2), the dimples and solute atoms, M is a Taylor factor (3.06 for copper), β0 is a constant (3 for
cleavage steps on the fracture surface are observed, indicating that the copper)[39], a is the lattice parameter of the matrix, c is the atomic
composites have mixed fracture characteristics. With the increase of concentration of solute atoms in the matrix, εG is the correction coeffi­
Ti3AlC2 content, the fracture surfaces of the composites change from cient of the shear modulus (− 0.61), εb is the lattice parameter for solid
uneven to smooth, the number of dimples decreases significantly, and solution atomic (0.064) [40].
more and more cleavage steps appear, implying that the ductility and From Fig. 3, the incorporation of Ti3AlC2 particles can refine the
toughness of composites are reduced. Besides, the micro-cracks of grains in the copper matrix due to the Ti3AlC2 particles could act as
Ti3AlC2 are observed, but no Ti3AlC2 particles are pulled out from the heterogeneous nucleation sites to prevent the growth of recrystallized
matrix, which demonstrates that there is a strong interface bonding grains. Grain refinement can enhance the strength of the composites.
strength between Ti3AlC2 and Cu matrix, and Ti3AlC2 particles play an The strengthening caused by grain refinement (ΔσGR ) can be calculated
important role in load bearing during the stretching process. The through the Hall-Petch relationship [41].
existing form of Gr and Ti3AlC2 is identified by the distribution of C, and
Ti on the fracture surface, as presented in Fig. 9. With Ti3AlC2 content ΔσGR = k0 (d− 1/2
− d0 − 1/2
) (9)
increases, the number of pulled-out Gr in the composites decreases √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
significantly, indicating Ti3AlC2 can improve the interfacial bonding Where k0 is a constant, which is 4.5 MPa mm for Cu, representing the
strength between Gr and Cu matrix to a certain extent and enhance the blocking effect of dislocation migration caused by grain boundaries. d
mechanical properties of the composites. and d0 refer to the average grain size of the composites and neat Cu,
To further study the mechanical properties of the composites, the respectively. Therein, the average grain size is 3.6 μm, 2.7 μm, 2.4 μm,
effect of different strengthening mechanisms on the strength of the and 1.8 μm for C-2.5, C-5, C-7.5, and C-10, respectively.
composites is analyzed. The strengthening mechanism in the copper In addition, the load transfer mechanism is also considered to
matrix mainly includes grain refinement, Orowan strengthening, load improve the strength of composites in this work, because there is a
transfer, dislocation strengthening, and solution strengthening [10,31, strong interface bonding strength between Ti3AlC2 and copper matrix.
32]. However, Orowan strengthening is not applicable for enhancing the The load transfer strengthening (Δσload ) can be calculated using the
strength of the composites in this work due to the micro size of re­ shear lag model [42].
inforcements [33].
Δσload = 0.5σym λ⋅V (10)
Based on the above experimental results, with increasing the rein­
forcement content, peak broadening can be observed in Fig. 2. The where λ is the aspect ratio of reinforcement, V is the volume fraction of
difference in peak broadening from XRD in composites is mainly caused reinforcement, and σym is the yield strength of the matrix.
by grain size and lattice strain. The XRD peak broadening β can be The calculated values of strengthening contributions to the yield
expressed as follows [34]. strength are presented in Table 3. From Table 3, it can be seen that
kλ dislocation strengthening and grain refinement are the most important
β = 4εtanθ + (2) strengthening mechanisms in enhancing the yield strength of the
dcosθ
composites.
Where β is the total broadening, ε is the lattice strain (0.00138, 0.00168,
0.00184, 0.00209 for C-2.5, C-5, C-7.5, and C-10, respectively), k is the 3.3. Wear behavior
shape factor, λ is the wavelength of the X-ray source, d is grain size.
Moreover, the dislocation density ρ is related to the lattice strain, and The friction coefficient and wear rate of all the as-prepared samples
the dislocation density can be calculated as [35]. tested at a 5 N load are presented in Fig. 10. From Fig. 10(a), the friction
√̅̅̅ coefficient of the neat Cu is relatively high, which is about 0.8 in the
2 3ε
ρ= (3) steady stage. The friction coefficient of the composites decreases
db
significantly compared with neat Cu. The C0 has the lowest friction
The dislocation density contributes to the increase in the yield coefficient among all the as-prepared samples and its friction coefficient

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X. Liu et al. Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

Fig. 8. Tensile fracture morphology of all the as-prepared samples, C0 (a1, a2), C2.5 (b1, b2), C-5 (c1, c2), C7.5 (d1, d2) and C10 (e1, e2).

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X. Liu et al. Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

Fig. 9. The elemental distribution of the fracture surface in the C10 sample.

avoid the vicious contact between the AISI 52100 steel and copper
Table 3
matrix, thereby reducing the wear rate of the composite. Besides, the
The calculated values of the strengthening mechanism contributions to the yield
wear rate of the composites shows a slow decreasing trend as the Ti3AlC2
strength.
content increases. The wear rate of the C10 reaches 1.8×10− 5 mm3/
Samples Δσρ (MPa) Δσss (MPa) ΔσGR (MPa) Δσload (MPa) (N⋅m), decreased by 45.5% over the C2.5. The reason for this result can
C2.5 32.7 7.3 18.8 3.1 be attributed to two aspects. Firstly, the hardness of the composites in­
C5 41.8 1.7 30.5 6.0 creases as the Ti3AlC2 content increases. Secondly, it is hard to be pulled
C7.5 45.9 11.7 45.6 8.7
out from the matrix for Gr, which is attributed to the incorporation of
C10 56.9 13.7 49.8 11.4
Ti3AlC2 can enhance the interface bonding strength between Gr and the
matrix, which is verified by the result from Fig. 8.
is only 0.28 in the steady stage. With the increase of Ti3AlC2 content, the To reveal the wear mechanism of the composites, the worn surface
friction coefficient of the composites presents an upward trend. When and component analysis of all as-prepared samples are carried out, as
the Ti3AlC2 content is higher than 5 wt%, the friction coefficient of presented in Fig. 11 and Table 4. From Fig. 11(a), the Cu exhibits sig­
composites rises sharply, indicating that the wear mechanism of the nificant plastic deformation and severe delamination. Delamination
composites has changed. Moreover, the higher the Ti3AlC2 content, the wear is the main wear mechanism for the neat Cu. The worn surface of
more obvious the friction coefficient fluctuation. Fig. 10(b) displays that the C0 is characterized by delamination and slight grooves. The thick­
the wear rate of all as-prepared composites is substantially reduced ness of delamination in the C0 decreases significantly over the neat Cu.
compared with neat Cu. The wear rate of the C0 decreases from This result indicates that the copper-coated Gr/Cu composite is subject
43.3×10− 5 mm3/(N⋅m) of neat Cu to 2.8×10− 5 mm3/(N⋅m), due to the to delamination wear, accompanied by slight abrasive wear. The
Gr has good lubrication properties. The uniform distribution of Gr can delamination, grooves, wear debris, and pits are also observed in Fig. 11

Fig. 10. Friction coefficient (a) and wear rate (b) of all as-prepared samples.

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X. Liu et al. Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

Fig. 11. The worn surface morphologies of all the as-sintered samples, Cu (a), C0 (b), C2.5 (c), C5 (d), C7.5(e), and C10 (f).

Table 4
Components analysis of points 1–9 from Fig. 11.
Components 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Cu (wt%) 97.93 82.01 90.51 10.64 23.50 / 71.75 /

C (wt%) / 9.04 7.15 88.73 / / 7.15 /
Fe (wt%) 0.57 3.44 / / 57.91 69.50 8.26 67.23
O (wt%) 1.50 5.51 2.34 0.63 18.59 30.50 12.84 32.77

(c-f). With the increase in Ti3AlC2 content, the thickness of the delam­ the representative samples are selected to observe the elemental distri­
ination in the composites decreases significantly, while the number of bution of worn surfaces. No oxidation occurs in the wear track for the
wear debris and pits increases. Meantime, the depth and width of the neat Cu, C0, and C2.5 samples by analyzing the content and distribution
grooves get shallower as the Ti3AlC2 content increases. The worn sur­ of oxygen from Fig. 12, Fig. 13, and Fig. 14. The delamination is
faces of the C2.5 and C5 exhibit delamination and abrasive wear, the evidently, and no grooves are observed on the worn surface of neat Cu.
degree of delamination is significantly reduced over the neat Cu. Combined with the content and distribution of C, it is analyzed that the
Judging from the components of points 2 and 3, the wear debris is Gr is evenly distributed on the worn surface of the C0 sample, which can
mainly composed of Cu, with a minor amount of O. The presence of trace effectively avoid direct contact between the friction pair and the matrix,
O is due to adsorbing oxygen atoms from the air. It is observed that the thereby reducing the friction coefficient of the composite.
transferred substance and large amounts of wear debris are present on From Fig. 14, the reinforcement shedding is not observed in C2.5 and
the worn surfaces of the composites, and the delamination is not obvious C7.5, indicating that Ti3AlC2 particles have good interface bonding
in Fig. 11(e, f). Analysis of the EDS results from points 6 and 8, the strength with the copper matrix. Meantime, Ti3AlC2 and TiCx particles
transferred substance is mainly composed of Fe and O, confirming that can bear the load during the wear process, making it difficult for the Gr
the oxide film can be formed during friction. The formation process of to form a continuous lubricating film, thereby increasing the friction
the oxide film is speculated to two aspects. On the one hand, the Ti3AlC2 coefficient of the composite. It is worth noting that there is an oxide film
and TiCx particles have higher hardness, causing Fe from the friction in the wear track of the C7.5. According to the results of EDS mapping,
pair to transfer and attach to the matrix during the wear process. On the the oxide film mainly contains O and Fe elements, and Fe elements come
other hand, the temperature increases during the wear process, leading from AISI 52100, which further confirms that oxidative wear and ad­
to Fe on the worn surface oxidizing and forming a metal oxide film. The hesive wear are also important wear mechanisms for the C7.5 sample.
wear debris is mainly composed of Cu, Fe, and O, which indicates
oxidation takes place in the C7.5 and C10 during the wear process. 4. Conclusions
Therefore, oxidative wear, adhesive wear, and abrasive wear are the
main wear mechanisms for C7.5 and C10 samples. The copper matrix composites reinforced by copper-coated graphite
To further study the wear mechanism of the neat Cu and composites, and Ti3AlC2 are fabricated using hot-pressing sintering. The effect of

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X. Liu et al. Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

Fig. 12. The elemental distribution of worn surface for the neat Cu.

Fig. 13. The elemental distribution of the worn surface for the C0 sample.

Ti3AlC2 content on the microstructure, evolution, mechanical proper­ refinement are the most important strengthening mechanisms in
ties, and dry sliding properties of copper matrix composites was inves­ enhancing the yield strength of the composites.
tigated. The conclusions are as follows: (3) The composites exhibit excellent wear resistance. Abrasive wear,
oxidative wear, and adhesive wear are the main wear mecha­
(1) The information of in-situ TiCx-Ti3AlC2-Cu (Al) gradient interface nisms for the composites reinforced by copper-coated graphite
is due to the decomposition of partial Ti3AlC2 during the sintering and high content of Ti3AlC2.
process, which could enhance interfacial bonding and improve
the mechanical properties of composites. CRediT authorship contribution statement
(2) The incorporation of Ti3AlC2 can significantly enhance the me­
chanical properties of copper-coated graphite reinforced copper Xiao Liu: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft.
matrix composites. Dislocation strengthening and grain Xiaoyang Yi: Investigation. Xinjian Cao: Writing – review & editing,

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X. Liu et al. Materials Today Communications 38 (2024) 108421

Fig. 14. The elemental distribution of the worn surface for the representative samples, C2.5, (b) C7.5.

Supervision, Methodology. Jun Yang: Supervision, Project administra­ References

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