The effect of W precursors on in-situ induced Y2O3/W dispersive particles synergistically strengthened copper composites

• AMT and H 2 WO 4 in-situ reacted with Y to form Y 2 O 3 and W, While WO 3 in-situ react with Y 2 O 3 , forming Y 6 W 2 O 15 . • The AMT sample formed fine dispersive particles, significantly enhancing the strength. • The Y-W-O compounds purified the copper matrix, promoted the thermophysical properties. During the fabrication of Y 2 O 3 /W dual-phase dispersion-strengthening copper composites (Cu-Y 2 O 3 /W) by in-situ reaction, the W precursor has a great influence on their performance. In this study, Cu-Y 2 O 3 /W was fabricated using three W precursors (ammonium metatungstate (AMT), H 2 WO 4 , and WO 3 ) via mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS), and the effects of these precursors on the materials' properties were investigated. It was shown that W precursors act as a process control agent, inhibiting cold welding and refining Cu powders during ball milling. Besides, W precursors reacted differently with Y. In addition to the in-situ generated Y 2 O 3 and W, the WO 3 samples also produced Y-W-O compounds, dual-phase strengthening the Cu matrix, with a tensile strength of 330 MPa and a fracture elongation of 14.8%. Furthermore, these compounds may absorb oxygen from the copper matrix, reducing the dissolved oxygen content in the Cu matrix via Y-W-O formation, resulting in high thermal conductivity of 372 and 305 W/(m·K) at both room temperature and elevated temperatures, respectively. These findings substantiate the feasibility of incorporating W precursors, offering significant insight into the preparation of high-strength, high-conductivity copper-based composites.