Investigation on microstructure and thermal properties of in-situ synthesized Cu–ZrO₂ nanocomposites

Cu–ZrO 2 nanocomposites were prepared by an in-situ reactive synthesis of copper nitrate Cu(NO 3 ) 2 and zirconium oxychloride ZrOCl 2 . Zirconia (ZrO 2 ) was added by 2.5, 5 and 10 wt.% to the Cu matrix to assess its effect on thermal conductivity and thermal expansion behavior. The results showed that ZrO 2 nanoparticles (30–50 nm) were homogeneously distributed in the copper matrix. The measured thermal conductivity for the Cu–ZrO 2 nanocomposites decreased from 372.8 to 94.4 W m −1 K −1 with increasing ZrO 2 content from 0 to 10 wt.%. Cu-10 wt.% ZrO 2 nanocomposite yields a low thermal conductivity of 94.4 W · m −1 K −1 along with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, 11.47 × 10 −6 K −1 .