Thermal conductivity of Cu–Zr/diamond composites produced by high temperature–high pressure method

Copper matrix composites reinforced with about 90 vol.% of diamond particles, with the addition of zirconium to copper matrix, were prepared by a high temperature–high pressure method. The Zr content was varied from 0 to 2.0 wt.% to investigate the effect on interfacial microstructure and thermal conductivity of the Cu–Zr/diamond composites. The highest thermal conductivity of 677 W m−1 K−1 was achieved for the composite with 1.0 wt.% Zr addition, which is 64% higher than that of the composite without Zr addition. This improvement is attributed to the formation of ZrC at the interface between copper and diamond. The variation of thermal conductivity of the composites was correlated to the evolution of interfacial microstructure with increasing Zr content.