Higher mechanical and thermal properties of Cu-rGO composites

Here, the author fabricated copper-reduced graphene oxide composites by using conventional powder metallurgy technique by varying the amount of reduced graphene oxide. SEM and Raman analysis were used to characterize micro-morphology and disorder in the bulk composites. Tensile, thermal and microhardness testing were conducted to observe the behaviour of Cu-rGO composites. Interesting results were obtained after testing; the materials ultimate tensile strength, ductility, thermal conductivity and hardness were increased significantly compared to pure Cu. An increase in 31% ultimate tensile strength, ~200% ductility, 9.5% thermal conductivity and 90% hardness were noticed by using a very small amount of rGO 0.5 wt%. Laser irradiation test was also proved the good heat dissipation properties of Cu-rGO composites by increasing the amount of rGO. This extraordinary simultaneous increase in mechanical and thermal properties is remarkable and gave us a new way for the fabrication of higher strength-ductility and strength-conductivity based composites.