posted on 2024-03-12, 16:40authored byShengcheng Shu, Yonghui Li, Zhicheng Yan, Yueqing Yang, Xu Zhang, Xingeng Li, Liang Zheng, Hua Chai, Bailing Jiang, Wanbin Ren, Baoshuai Du, Wen Dai
Graphene is an effective reinforcement for metal matrix
composites
due to its excellent mechanical properties, high specific surface
area, chemical inertness, and thermal stability. Nonetheless, homogeneous
dispersion of graphene toward high-performance copper matrix composites
remains a challenge due to the poor wettability and density contrast
between the copper matrix and graphene. Herein, we develop an in situ
surface modification strategy for the synthesis of high-quality graphene-like
carbon (GLC)-encapsulated monodispersed copper particles, which are
then vacuum hot pressed to manufacture graphene-reinforced copper
matrix composites. This approach offers a low-cost, efficient method
for mass-producing graphene-reinforced copper matrix composites and
other graphene-based composites on an industrial scale. In the actual
electrical contact performance test, the service life of our graphene-reinforced
copper matrix composites as electrical contacts is about 3 times longer
than that of the commercial pure copper electrical contacts, demonstrating
the superior ability to address the electrical contact issues in electrical
engineering systems.