Experimental investigations on the synthesis of W–Cu nanocomposite through spark plasma sintering

Highlights: • Tungsten–copper composites have been synthesized using SPS of nano powders. • Various preparation methods, namely mixing, milling and coating have been used. • Conventional compaction and sintering has also been used for comparison. • The composites by SPS have shown finer microstructure and better hardness. • Mixing has proven best preparation method with best physical/mechanical properties. - Abstract: Elemental powders of nanosized tungsten and chemically deposited nanosized copper were used for preparing tungsten/copper composites, which are used as electric contact components. A composite of 70 wt.%W/30 wt.%Cu (52 vol%W/48 vol%Cu) composition was prepared by three powder metallurgy techniques. Elemental mixing, mechanical milling and electroless Cu coating on tungsten particles were used for the synthesis. The obtained powder blends underwent consolidation by rapid hot pressing using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) route at 950 °C under vacuum and by conventional vacuum pressureless sintering for comparison. The elemental powders and the sintered composites were investigated by optical microscopy and SEM. Electrical conductivity, hardness, transverse rupture strength, and wear properties were measured. Results show that the synthesis of the composite by the investigated route yields good performance. Samples prepared by SPS have shown better mechanical properties than those prepared by compaction and sintering due to their fine microstructure