Effect of sintering temperature on grain growth and mechanical properties of Copper/Graphene nanosheet composite

Abstract In this work, the Copper/Graphene Nanosheet (Cu/GNS) composite is fabricated through flake powder metallurgy technique (i.e.) flake shaped Cu powder as matrix and the effect of sintering temperature on microstructure, grain growth and texture of bulk Cu/GNS sintered composite are studied. The sintering was done at various temperatures (7500C, 8000C, 8500C) for 1 hr and the effects are discussed. The study reveals that the presence of GNS restricts grain growth and prevents unusual grain growth during sintering. Also, random texture and twin boundaries are visible on sintered composites due to different grain growth. The hardness and residual stress are maximum for the composite sintered at 8000C, further increase in sintering temperature lowers the mechanical properties of the compsoite. The Cu/GNS sintered at 8000C, exhibit high hardness of 96 HRB and a compressive stress of 295.9 MPa (±1.7 MPa).