Fabrication and characterization of Mo-Cu nano-composite powders by a chemical co-deposition technique

Abstract In this work, a method of chemical co-precipitation combined with hydrogen reduction was used to prepare Mo-25Cu nanopowder. Phase distribution and thermodynamic analysis of the powder with calcination and reduction at different temperatures were analyzed, and the reaction mechanism was obtained. The prepared Mo-25Cu nanopowder sintered at high temperature to form the alloy block, and the microstructure, morphology and properties of the Mo-Cu composite were compared with those of the Mo-Cu alloy sintered directly with mixed powder in micron size. Mo-25Cu compacts prepared by sintering at 1200 °C in a hydrogen atmosphere with synthetic powder show good sinterability and excellent physical as well as mechanical properties with a relative density of 96.6%, electrical conductivity of 36.2%IACS and Vickers hardness of 2.68 GPa, respectively.