Journal of Alloys and Compounds 822 (2020) 153675

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Journal of Alloys and Compounds

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jalcom

Microstructural, mechanical and thermal properties of microwave

sintered Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites
Marjan Darabi a, Masoud Rajabi a, Noushin Nasiri b, *
a
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Technology and Engineering, Imam Khomeini International University (IKIU), Qazvin, Iran
b
School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Cu nanocomposites reinforced with 0e6 vol% MWCNTs are fabricated using mixing, ball milling and
Received 8 November 2019 microwave sintering techniques. It is found that decreasing the Cu powders size from 65 to 15 mm
Received in revised form significantly enhances the mechanical and thermal properties of the fabricated nanocomposites. In
1 January 2020
addition, the optimal MWCNTs content in such composites is found to be 4 vol%; there exists maximum
Accepted 3 January 2020
Available online 7 January 2020
for microhardness, bending strength and thermal conductivity of Cu- MWCNT composites which rise to
82.2 HV, 155.2 MPa and 380.2 W.mk 1, respectively. However, the nanocomposites properties then fall to
75 HV, 139.5 MPa and 315.4 W.mk 1, respectively, with further increasing the MWCNT content up to 6 vol
Keywords:
Cu-MWCNT nanocomposite
%. Furthermore, the relative density of the pellets is calculated using Archimedes method, demonstrating
Microwave sintering a lower relative density for the composites with higher MWCNTs content. These findings provide a
Microhardness simple and effective sintering method for the engineering of low-cost metal matrix composites.
Thermal conductivity © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Relative density

1. Introduction reinforcements such as carbon fibers, multi-walled carbon nano-

In the past two decades, metal matrix composites (MMCs) have
attracted great attentions due to their high specific modulus,
strength, and thermal stability, compared to monolithic materials,
to be utilized in numerous applications including automotive in-
dustries [1e3]. A wide range of matrix metals such as aluminum
(Al) [4e6], copper (Cu) [7,8], titanium (Ti) [9], nickel (Ni) [10] and
iron (Fe) [11] have been employed in structural application where a
high strength to weight ratio, tensile strength, wear resistance and
stability are the main engineering considerations [12]. Amongst
them, Cu-based MMCs are commonly used in electrical applica-
tions and package materials due to copper’s excellent electrical
(5.8  105 S cm 1 at 27  C) and thermal (401 W m 1 K 1 at 27  C)
conductivity as well as low-cost production and availability [13,14].
However, the poor hardness, low strength and abrasion resistance
are the major limitation of Cu which extensively hinders its engi-
neering and industrial application [15,16]. To address this issue, a
wide range of reinforced materials including borides, carbides, ni-
trides, oxides as particles, whiskers or short fibers have been
introduced into Cu matrix [17,18]. Amongst them, carbon
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: noushin.nasiri@mq.edu.au (N. Nasiri).
tubes (MWCNTs), graphene oxides and graphite nanoparticles
demonstrated great attention due to their exceptional mechanical,
electrical and thermal properties [19,20]. Liu et al. [21] investigated
the preparation and properties of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as
well as graphene nanosheet (GNS) as reinforcement materials for
aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) using power synthesis tech-
niques. An average 40% enhancement was observed for MMCs
hardness for 0.3 wt% rGO-AMCs and 0.15 wt% GNS-AMCs samples
compared to unreinforced aluminum samples [21]. Tsai et al. [22]
reported a minimum of 40% enhancement in the wear resistance of
1.0 wt% CNTs/Cu nanocomposites compared to that of a pure Cu
sample.
Despite these significant improvements upon adding CNTs into
metal matrix, a homogenous dispersion of CNTs is still critical as
agglomeration and inhomogeneous dispersion of CNTs could
considerably restrict the mechanical and electrical performance of
MMCs [23e25]. In fact, the performance of CNTs/Cu composites is
strictly associated with dispersion of CNTs and density of materials
[8,26]. Therefore, different methods have been used to synthesis
CNT-reinforced Cu matrix composites including powder metallurgy
techniques, electrochemical deposition process, melting and so-
lidification synthesis and spray techniques [1,27,28]. However,
these methods are expensive and require a few post sintering/
deformation processing steps such as rolling, hot extrusion as well

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2020.153675
0925-8388/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
2 M. Darabi et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 822 (2020) 153675
as severe plastic deformation (SPD) [29]. In addition, excessive
grain growth caused by long sintering time at high temperature
could lead to a weakened interfacial strength in the fabricated
MMCs [29,30]. Hence, some rapid densification methods including
spark plasma sintering (SPS) and microwave sintering have been
utilized due to their many inherent advantages over conventional
sintering technique [31e35].
Compared to SPS technique, microwave sintering could save up
to 85% of the sintering time as well as 96% of the energy [30], of-
fering lower sintering temperature, lower porosity and lower pro-
cessing cost [36e38]. Using spark plasma sintering, Guiderdoni
et al. [15] fabricated homogenously dispersed double walled carbon
nanotubes (DWCNT) in Cu matrix, featuring significantly micro-
hardness (103 HV) for DWCNT/Cu composites compared to pure Cu
samples. Using microwave sintering, Babu et al. [29] investigated
the effect of sintering time as well as CNT diameters on the me-
chanical, electrical and thermal properties of the synthesized Cu-
CNT composites. The optimal hardness of 80 HV, relative density
of 91% and electrical conductivity of 47 MS m 1 were obtained at
60 min sintering time for the CNT average diameter of 20e40 nm
[29]. In another research, Duan et al. [30] reported a hardness of 80
HV for the Cu-0.5 wt% CNT composite fabricated by molecular-level
mixing followed by microwave sintering technique. The micro-
hardness value decreased significantly from 80 to 55 HV by
increasing the CNT content from 0.5 wt% to 1 wt% which could be
attributed to the aggravated agglomeration in the composite with
higher CNT content [1,30]. However, limited studies are conducted
on the role Cu powder sizes, as metal matrix, play on the micro-
structure as well as mechanical, electrical and thermal properties of
CNT-Cu composites.
In our previous work [39], a simple comparison was conducted
between conventional and microwave sintering methods,
observing that a similar mechanical and electrical properties could
be achieved in a significantly shorter synthesis time, when the
samples are sintered using microwave method compared to the
conventional sintering techniques. Here, the effect of matrix grain
size on the microwave mechanism, scattering of microwave energy,
and microwave energy absorption was investigated simulta-
neously. In addition, the effect of Cu powder size as well as MWCNT
content on microstructural, mechanical, electrical and thermal
properties of microwave sintered Cu/MWCNT composites are
investigated. Mechanical properties such as physical properties of
fabricated samples were then characterized by measuring relative
density and thermal conductivity as well as investigating the me-
chanical properties, including microhardness and bending
strength. Finally, the samples microhardness was compared with
Fig. 1. The preparation process for fabricating Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites using mixing, ball milling and microwave sintering techniques.
other research which emphasizes the outstanding role of fine grain
size of matrix and microwave energy absorption of reinforcement,
leading to improved properties. Findings of this research provide a
simple and effective fabrication method for the engineering of low-
cost MMCs.
2. Experiment
2.1. Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites fabrication
For the synthesis of Cu- MWCNT nanocomposites, six batches of
copper powders with average particle size of 15, 25, 35, 45, 55 and
65 mm (supplied by Iran Powder Metallurgy Complex, with 99.9%
purity) and one batch of MWCNT with a diameter of about 20 nm
(supplied by US nano of America with purity level of >95%) were
used. Copper powders were mixed with MWCNTs in a planetary
ball mill using a stainless-steel jar (the mass ratio of ball to powder
was 10:1). The powders and MWCNTs were mixed under argon (Ar)
atmosphere for 10 h at 120 rpm, to prevent oxide formation. Then,
the mixed powders were compacted in a uniaxial hydraulic press
under the 450 MPa pressure for 60 s to obtain green pellets (Fig. 1)
with two different dimensions of 40  10  3 mm3 and 10  3 mm2.
2.2. Sintering procedure
The green pellets were sintered for 20 min using a microwave
furnace (900 W, 2.45 GHz, LG Microwave furnace) equipped with Ar
gas at a rate of 42  C.min 1 (Fig. 1). For higher overall heating rate,
the samples were placed in an alumina crucible and immersed in
Silicon Carbide (SiC) bed. This step provided the green pallets with
a hybrid heating facility as well as reduced the thermal gradient of
samples and the atmosphere around them, leading to the fabrica-
tion of crack free components. In order to minimize the heat
transfer, the crucibles were covered by a layer of glass wool to
eliminate the heat loss. Sintered specimens were then cooled down
to room temperature (Fig. 1).
2.3. Characterization
Prior to characterization, the samples were mounted and
grounded using 500 to 5000 grit SiC sandpapers, and then polished
with alumina based polishing slurry. The samples then were
chemically etched by immersing in an etching solution of CrO3,
HNO3, H2SO4 and H2O, for 10 s. The Archimedes method was used
to measure the density of the sintered specimen according to ASTM
B311. The thermal conductivity of the samples was measured by
 M. Darabi et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 822 (2020) 153675
means of a relative steady-state technique, in an experimental
setup (model HT01, Deghat Azma corp), which is considered as a
variation of ASTM E 1225-87 methodology. In this technique, a
sample of unknown thermal conductivity is embedded vertically
between two samples of known thermal conductivity with a hot
plate at the top and a cold plate at the bottom. Heat is supplied by
thermocouples, positioned along the length of samples. When the
heat gradient reaches to zero or heat becomes constant over the
entire sample, the thermal conductivity could be measured using
the one-dimensional Fourier conduction equation [40]. Bending
strength test was conducted using a universal testing machine
(Zwick/Roaell, Z100) with the loading speed of 0.5 mm min 1, ac-
cording to ASTM D790 standard. The microhardness of the samples
was measured using a Vickers microhardness digital tester (HVS-
1000A) at a load of 50 g and a dwell time of 10 s in accordance with
the ASTM standard E92. The average hardness of five different test
points is the final hardness of samples. The crystal phases and
surface compositions of the samples were characterized by X-Ray
diffraction using (Rigaku XRD, MiniFlex 600) system equipped with
Cu Ka radiation of average wavelength 1.5404 Å. Morphological
examination of samples was performed using a field emission
scanning electron microscope (FESEM, MIRA3 TE SCAN) at 15.0 kV.
The average grain size of the nanocomposite samples was
measured by analyzing FESEM micrographs with the aid of an
image processing software (ImageJ).
3. Result and discussion
3.1. Microstructure
Powder metallurgy is one of the most common fabrication
techniques for metal-CNT nanocomposites [41,42]. As mentioned in
the experimental section, the MWCNTs and Cu powders were
mixed in different MWCNT volume fraction, using mechanical
milling (10 h at 120 rpm). The materials defect density as well as
alloying capacity increases significantly after mechanical milling
due to a high level of energy generated during milling process
[43,44]. Here, a microwave sintering (as densification step), fol-
lowed by a post pressing process was then conducted to fabricate
Cu- MWCNT nanocomposites.
Fig. 2 shows the field emission scanning electron microscope
(FESEM) images of Cu- MWCNT nanocomposite samples with
average particle size of 15 and 65 mm, before (Fig. 2a and b) and
after microwave sintering for 20 min (Fig. 2c and d). It could be seen
that MWCNTs are well embedded and distributed homogeneously
within the metal matrix, with no obvious crack or damage on the
nanocomposite surface. This high homogeneity is expected to in-
crease the rigidity of Cu-MWCNT nanocomposite samples
compared to the pure Cu material. The fabricated nanocomposites
were made of 4 vol% MWCNT added into copper powder with an
average particle size of 15 mm (Fig. 2a,c) and 65 mm (Fig. 2b,d).
Increasing the average size of Cu powders from 15 to 65 mm
resulted in significantly coarser microstructure (Fig. 2a and b) after
microwave sintering with larger voids and porosities (Fig. 2c and d).
In fact, the nanocomposites fabricated by the Cu powders with
smaller particle size (15 mm) demonstrated 50% reduction in grain
size compared to the 65 mm Cu powders. This could be related to
the important role grain size is playing in the microwave energy
absorption during sintering process [45]. In addition, the Cu-
MWCNT nanocomposite made of larger Cu powders (65 mm)
demonstrated a lower level of entanglement (Fig. 2d) in compari-
son to that of 15 mm Cu-MWCNT nanocomposite powder (Fig. 2c),
resulting in the formation of more micro-voids in the microstruc-
ture of the fabricated samples. This could be attributed to a higher
level of microwave field that concentrates at the grain boundaries
3
Fig. 2. FESEM micrographs of Cu-4 vol% MWCNT nanocomposites made of Cu powders
with (a,c) 15 mm and (b,d) 65 mm average particles size (a,b) before and (c,d) after
microwave sintering for 20 min.
in the microstructure of these nanocomposites [46,47].
In the microwave sintering process, the microwaves could
propagate into the material and their energy could transfer from
one point to another [34,48]. The interaction of microwaves with
the material and the absorption of the energy could generate heat
in the material, while the amount of energy absorbed by the ma-
terial is dependent on the material’s dielectric loss factor [48]. Fig. 3
illustrates the material’s interaction with microwaves, in which the
materials could be classified in three different types: transparent,
opaque and absorbent. In the case of MMCs, one of the components
is a high-loss material whereas the other component is a low-loss
one. According to other scientific works, with decreasing of parti-
cle size of nanocomposites, the reflection loss witnesses a shift to
lower frequencies and broader bandwidth where the microwave
absorption reaches the maximum amount [48]. In fact, in the
nanocomposite made of smaller Cu powders, higher number of
powder boundaries/interfaces results in enhanced microwave field,
which consequently leads to progressive necking formation at the
powders interface [49]. Furthermore, the heat generated by the
microwave sintering process could be transferred more slowly
through a course-grained microstructure compared to a fine-
grained one [47] resulting in a lower density and higher level of
micro-voids for the Cu-MWCNT nanocomposite made of larger Cu
powders (65 mm) (Fig. 2d). This higher level of defects in the
microstructure could hinder the filling pattern of matrix during the
synthesize process leading to lower relative density of the fabri-
cated nanocomposites [29,30]. Besides, higher level of defects in
the microstructure might result in lower electrical and thermal
conductivity in nanocomposites as they could block the electron
and phonon conduction in the microstructure [29].
3.2. X-ray diffraction
The XRD patterns of Cu-4 vol% MWCNT nanocomposites made
of Cu powders with different average particle size of 15 and 65 mm,
before and after microwave sintering are shown in Fig. 4. The XRD
patterns of both Cu-MWCNT nanocomposite powders and bulks are
generally similar with no obvious change in the obtained patterns
4 M. Darabi et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 822 (2020) 153675

Fig. 3. Interaction of different types of materials with microwaves: a) Transparent, b) Opaque, c) Absorber.

Fig. 4. (a) XRD patterns of Cu-4 vol% MWCNT powders and nanocomposites and magnified view of the main XRD peaks at 2q of (b) ~ 43.3 and (c) ~ 50.4.

by increasing the average particle size of Cu powders. Although,

further XRD analysis in this figure demonstrates difference among
them in terms of broad peaks of fine-grained copper which can be
attributed to uniform transferred heat within the structure.
The peaks identified by the planes (111), (200) and (220) at 2q of
about 43 , 50 and 74 respectively, were confirmed to follow JCPDS
PDF 85e1326 and FCC structure with no observable peaks of other
phases in the XRD patterns. The major peak corresponding to
MWCNT should be observed at 26 (JCPDS PDF 26e1076) with
respective lattices of (002), while no noticeable peak for MWCNT
was witnessed due to low diffraction efficiency of carbon [50]. This
could also be attributed to no prominent structural changes in the
Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites after mechanical alloying of the
powders.

3.3. Relative density

The densification step in powder metallurgy technique is re-

ported to generate macro voids and pores in the fabricated
microstructure [51]. The size and density of these macro-pores in
the final structure play significant role in determining the me-
chanical and electrical properties of the fabricated nanocomposites
[22,51,52]. The relative density of the fabricated Cu-MWCNT
nanocomposites could be conducted to evaluate the size and den-
sity of the generated voids and pores in the microstructure. Here,
the Archimedes method [53] is used to measure the relative density
of fabricated Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites made of Cu powders
with average particle size of 15 up to 65 mm as a function of MWCNT
vol%. As shown in Fig. 5, increasing the MWCNT content up to 6 vol%
Fig. 5. Relative density of microwave sintered Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites made of Cu
powders with 15, 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65 mm particle size as a function of MWCNT
content.
decreased the relative density of the fabricated Cu-MWCNT nano-
composite, regardless of Cu powder size. For nanocomposites made
by 15 mm Cu powders, the relative density deceased from 97% to
95% (red circles) by increasing the MWCNT content (vol%) from 0 to
6, respectively. Increasing the average powder size from 15 to 25
resulted in decreasing the relative density from 97% and 95% (red
 M. Darabi et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 822 (2020) 153675
circles) to 96.2% and 90.9% (blue circles), for the MWCNT content of
0 vol% and 6 vol%, respectively. Further decrease in Cu average
particle size down to 65 mm led to a lower relative density of 95.6%
and 90.1% (blue rectangles) for the Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites
with 0 and 6 vol% MWCNT content, respectively (Fig. 5).
Higher relative density was reported for the Cu composites with
similar CNT content fabricated by SPS [15]. This lower density of the
sample with higher MWCNT content could be attributed to the
slower densification of Cu powders in the presence of extra
MWCNT in the matrix [53]. Due to the higher melting point of
MWCNT compared to the copper matrix [54], higher MWCNT
content resulted in the formation of larger macro voids in the
microstructure, and consequently decreased the relative density of
the fabricated samples. In fact, increasing the size of macro voids in
the microstructure could be the main reason for lower density of
the composites with higher MWCNT content [30]. Similar results
were reported by Babu et al. [29] for Cu-CNT nanocomposites made
by 0.25e1.0 wt% CNT. The relative density of the fabricated nano-
composites decreased from 87.1% to 80.8% by increasing the CNTs
content from 0.25 to 1.0 wt%. However, some materials processing
techniques such as cold rolling could significantly increase the
relative density of these nanocomposites via eliminating these
macro voids [30]. In addition, for a wide range of MWCNT content
from 1 to 6 vol%, the Cu(65 mm)-MWCNT nanocomposites featured
considerably lower relative density compared to Cu(15 mm)-
MWCNT ones. In fact, at the MWCNT content of 6 vol% the relative
density of the fabricated samples were 93.5% and 90.1% for
Cu(15 mm) and Cu(65 mm)-MWCNT nanocomposites, respectively.
3.4. Microhardness
Fig. 6a shows the Vickers microhardness of pure Cu and Cu-
MWCNT nanocomposite samples with different MWCNT content
from 0 to 6 vol%. Regardless of MWCNT content, the nano-
composites made of smaller Cu powder size demonstrated a higher
microhardness compared to the samples fabricated by larger Cu
micro-powders. This lower microhardness for nanocomposites
made by larger Cu powders could be attributed to a lower level of
microwave energy absorption and consequently higher level of
micro-voids formed in the microstructure of these nano-
composites, compared to the ones made of smaller Cu powders
[45].
In addition, the microhardness of nanocomposites made by
15 mm powder size increased rapidly from 50 HV to 74 HV by
increasing the MWCNT content from 0 to 2 vol% (Fig. 6a). At 4 vol%
MWCNT content, the microhardness value reached a peak of 82 HV
Fig. 6. (a) Microhardness of microwave sintered Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites made of Cu powders with 15, 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65 mm particle size as a function of MWCNT content.
(b) A comparison of microhardness obtained by Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites fabricated in this research (15 mm particle size) with similar nanocomposites reported in the literature.
5
for Cu(15 mm)-MWCNT nanocomposite and 66 HV for Cu(65 mm)-
MWCNT nanocomposites. This higher microhardness is attributed
to the higher strength of MWCNT compared to pure Cu matrix. In
addition, grain refinement as well as strong Cu/MWCNT interface
formed during microwave synthesis could result in higher micro-
hardness in the fabricated nanocomposites [30]. Increasing the
MWCNT content in the nanocomposites could ease the load
transfer from the Cu matrix to the harder MWCNT, resulting in an
enhanced hardness value of the fabricated Cu-MWCNT nano-
composite. However, further increase in MWCNT content to 6 vol%
led to dramatic decrease in microhardness to 75 and 54 HV for the
nanocomposites made of 15 and 65 mm Cu powders, respectively
(Fig. 6a). This lower microhardness could be ascribed to the for-
mation of larger micro voids as well as a greater number of ag-
glomerates in the nanocomposite with higher MWCNT content
[29].
Fig. 6b presents a comparison of microhardness obtained by Cu-
MWCNT nanocomposites fabricated in this research with similar
nanocomposites reported in the literature [55e58]. The micro-
hardness of 82 HV obtained by Cu-4 vol% MWCNT nanocomposites
fabricated by microwave sintering technique was the highest value
compared to similar reports. In contrast, the Cu-10 vol% MWCNT
nanocomposite fabricated by Shukla et al. [56] demonstrated the
lowest microhardness of 56 HV amongst others. Uddin et al. [55]
reported a 32% increase in microhardness of Cu-0.5 vol% MWCNT
nanocomposite fabricated by hot press technique, compared to the
pure copper samples, which is in line with 39% increase in hardness
of Cu-4 vol% MWCNT nanocomposite, obtained in this research
(Fig. 6a). Moreover, Wei et al. [58] and Daoush et al. [57] succeeded
in achieving hardness of about 58 and 75 HV by preparing Cu-4 vol
% CNT and Cu-1 vol% CNT nanocomposite through powder metal-
lurgy technique and electroless deposition process respectively.
3.5. Bending strength
Fig. 7 shows the bending strength of microwave sintered Cu-
MWCNT nanocomposites as a function of Cu powders size for
MWCNT content of 0 vol% up to 6 vol%. Regardless of Cu powders
average size, the bending strength of the fabricated nano-
composites reached a peak value of 155 MPa at 4 vol% MWCNT
content, for nanocomposites made of 15 mm Cu powders size. This
higher bending strength of nanocomposites with high MWCNT
content could be attributed to the high elastic modulus and
strength of MWCNT as well as strong interface combination be-
tween MWCNT and Cu matrix [39]. As a result, the load applied
during the bending strength test could be easily transfer from the
6 M. Darabi et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 822 (2020) 153675

aggregated CNTs is weak, resulting in a significant reduction in the

nanocomposite strength [30]. Moreover, morphology of the sample
represents that copper has ductile fracture [30]. When MWCNT
volume fraction increases to 6 vol% MWCNT, elongation declines.
This sample is fractured before yielding because of significant
reduction in elastic properties. It is interesting to note that the
higher bending strength of nanocomposite with smaller Cu pow-
ders could be attributed to the presence of more grain boundaries
in the microstructure as well as higher capacity of the nano-
composite for better incorporation of MWCNT within the matrix
[57].

3.6. Thermal conductivity

Fig. 9 shows the thermal conductivity of microwave sintered Cu-

MWCNT nanocomposites made of Cu powders from 15 up to 65 mm
particle size. Regardless of the Cu powders size, 30% rise is observed
in thermal conductivity of the fabricated nanocomposites by
Fig. 7. Bending strength of microwave sintered Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites made of
increasing the MWCNT content from 0 to 4 vol%. This higher ther-
Cu powders with 15, 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65 mm particle size as a function of MWCNT mal conductivity in the fabricated nanocomposites with high
content. MWCNT content could be attributed to remarkable effects of
phonon conduction with insignificant agglomeration of MWCNT in
lower volume fraction [26]. However, further increase in the
matrix interface, leading to a significantly higher bending strength
of 25% for Cu-MWCNT nanocomposite compared to pure Cu sam-
ples. In addition, the bending strength of Cu-4 vol% MWCNT
nanocomposite decreased from 155 MPa to 132 MPa by increasing
the average Cu powders size from 15 to 65 mm (Fig. 7). This higher
bending strength of Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites made by smaller
Cu powders could be attributed to the smaller grain size in
Cu(15 mm)-MWCNT compared to Cu(65 mm)-MWCNT, resulting in a
higher number of grain boundaries, consequently, higher resistance
to the dislocation motions, which could enhance the bending
strength of the fabricated samples.
Further increasing the MWCNT content up to 6 vol% resulted in
decreasing down the bending strength of the fabricated Cu-
MWCNT nanocomposites to 139 and 119, for Cu (15 mm)- and Cu
(65 mm)-MWCNT (Fig. 7). This lower bonding strength could be
related to weak interface bonding between CNT aggregates and
clusters, in the nanocomposite with high CNT content [29,30]. The
fracture surface of microwave sintered Cu-MWCNT nano-
composites with 6 vol% MWCNT content is presented in Fig. 8. As
can be seen, high MWCNT content as well as large Cu powders size
(65 mm) resulted in the formation of MWCNT agglomerates in the Fig. 9. Thermal conductivity of microwave sintered Cu-MWCNT nanocomposites made
of Cu powders with 15, 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65 mm particle size as a function of MWCNT
fabricated nanocomposites. The interface bonding between these
content.

Fig. 8. FESEM micrographs of fracture surface of Cu-6 vol% MWCNT nanocomposites made of 65 mm Cu powders.
 M. Darabi et al. / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 822 (2020) 153675
volume fraction of MWCNT up to 6 vol% leads to sharp reduction of
thermal conductivity in the fabricated nanocomposites down to
290 W/mk. This conductivity reduction could originate from the
large number of voids in the grain boundaries as well as high
porosity in MWCNT clusters [30]. In addition, random orientation of
MWCNT in the matrix could result in scattering of phonons through
grain boundaries and consequently, restricting the thermal con-
ductivity of the fabricated nanocomposites [59].
4. Conclusion
The Cu-MWCNT composites having different Cu powders size
and MWCNTs content were successfully fabricated using mixing,
ball milling and microwave sintering methods. Then, the effect of
Cu powder size as well as MWCNTs content on microstructural,
mechanical and thermal properties of microwave sintered Cu-
MWCNT composites are investigated. The following conclusions
could be extracted based on the outcome of this research study:
- Increasing the Cu powders size from 15 to 65 mm significantly
decreased the mechanical and thermal properties of the fabri-
cated nanocomposites. A 25%, 17% and 15% reduction in the
microhardness, bending strength and thermal conductivity of
the Cu-4vol% MWCNT composites were observed when the Cu
powders size increased from 15 to 65 mm. In addition, the
relative density of the fabricated nanocomposites (Cu-4vol%
MWCNT) decreased slightly from 94.8% to 92.5% by increasing
the Cu powders size from 15 to 65 mm.
- Increasing the MWCNTs content from 0 to 6 vol% significantly
impacted the mechanical and thermal properties as well as
relative density of the fabricated nanocomposites. Microhard-
ness, bending strength and thermal conductivity of fabricated
Cu-MWCNTs composites with 15 mm Cu powders size increased
from 50 HV, 115.4 MPa and 250 W.mk 1 to 82.2 HV, 155.2 MPa
and 380.2 W.mk 1 by increasing the MWCNTs content from 0 to
4 vol%. However, further increase in the MWCNTs content up to
6 vol% resulted in lower microhardness (75 HV), bending
strength (139.5 MPa) and thermal conductivity (315.4 W.mk 1).
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Marjan Darabi: Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation,
Methodology, Visualization, Writing - original draft. Masoud
Rajabi: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing -
review & editing. Noushin Nasiri: Conceptualization, Supervision,
Validation, Visualization, Writing - review & editing.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful for the research support of Iran National
Science Foundation with this research work.
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