Investigation on the novel copper-based composite conductors synergistically improved by in-situ generated graphene and nanoparticles

High-performance Cu/graphene composites synergistically strengthened by nanoparticles were directly synthesized by hot press sintering using different organometallic substances, such as aluminum stearate, zinc stearate, and tetrabutyl titanate, as the graphene and nanoparticle formation source. The TiO2-doped Cu/Graphene composite possesses high hardness, great plasticity, and high electrical conductivity due to the uniformly-distributed three-dimensional (3D) network graphene and the TiO2 nanoparticles at the Cu/graphene interface. The composite wire processed by severe cold deformation without intermediate heat treatment displays high electrical conductivity of 92.3% IACS, great tensile strength of 497 MPa, and high softening temperature close to 400 °C, for which the graphene hinders the grain boundary movement and pins the dislocations, the TiO2 nanoparticles nail the interface and increase the roughness of graphene, the fibrous grains and the thinned graphene along the grain boundary provide a fast path for electron transmission. The present work offers a novel pathway for designing and fabricating high-performance Cu/Graphene conductors.