Corrosion resistance and hardness of laser sintered graphene-copper nanocomposites

Graphene is a fascinating material and it has many exceptional properties. The outstanding mechanical properties make it an ideal reinforcement material for metal matrix composites (MMCs). In this work, graphene reinforced copper nanocomposites were successfully prepared by laser sintering. The composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. It was proved by XRD patterns and Raman spectrum that graphene existed in the laser sintering composites. The Vickers hardness was measured; compared with laser sintered pure copper, a 22% increase in Vickers hardness value was obtained. The corrosion behaviors of laser sintered pure copper and graphene-copper composites in 3.5% NaCl solution were studied by electrochemical polarization method. The result shows that the corrosion resistance of graphene-copper composites is a little bit better than that of pure copper. (authors)