Nano-mechanical and tribological properties of copper matrix composites reinforced by graphene nanosheets

The impacts of graphene nanosheets content on microstructure, nano-mechanical and tribological properties of the copper matrix composites were investigated. The graphene nanosheets randomly distributed in copper matrix, which obviously hindered its grain growth. The elastic modulus and nano-hardness of the copper matrix composite with 0.2 wt% graphene nanosheets were enhanced 47.5% and 54.7% compared to these of pure copper, respectively. The average creep degree (5.1%) was lower than that (11.8%) of pure copper in holding stage. The creep rate (ca. 0.016 nm/s) decreased 10 times as that (ca. 0.16 nm/s) of pure copper in steady-state creep. The tribological performances were improved dramatically with increase of graphene nanosheets content.