High-quality Graphene Directly Grown on Cu Nanoparticles for Cu-graphene Nanocomposites

Abstract

High-quality graphene was directly grown on the surface of Cu nanoparticles (NPs) via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and then the graphene-covered Cu NPs were consolidated into dense Cu-graphene nanocomposites at different temperature. The surface of Cu NPs is well protected from oxidation due to the coverage of graphene. Nanocomposite consolidated at 650 °C (Cu/G-650) exhibits a hardness of 2.53 GPa with no distinctive different electrical resistivity compared with pure Cu, 2 orders of magnitude decrease in wear rate and 175% improvement in the coefficient of friction (COF) were reported for the Cu/G-650 nanocomposite as compared with pure Cu. The formation of graphene tribofilm is attributed for the effective protection of the Cu matrix from wear.