Properties of Cu-xFe3O4 Nanocomposites for Electrical Application

Andra Mihaela Predescu; Ruxandra Vidu; Petrică Vizureanu; Andrei Predescu; Ecaterina Matei; Cristian Predescu

doi:10.3390/ma13143086

Properties of Cu-xFe₃O₄ Nanocomposites for Electrical Application

Materials (Basel). 2020 Jul 10;13(14):3086. doi: 10.3390/ma13143086.

Authors

Andra Mihaela Predescu¹, Ruxandra Vidu^{1

2}, Petrică Vizureanu³, Andrei Predescu¹, Ecaterina Matei¹, Cristian Predescu¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, RO-060042 Bucharest, Romania.
² Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
³ Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University of Iasi, RO-700050 Iasi, Romania.

Abstract

Copper matrix nanocomposites reinforced with magnetite nanoparticles were developed using powder metallurgy. Various processing parameters were taken into consideration, such as magnetite content, compaction pressure, sintering time and temperature. The nanopowder blends were compacted using various uniaxial pressures and sintered at 650 and 800 °C in order to study the influence of processing parameters on morphology, structure, thermal, magnetic and mechanical properties. The structure and morphology of the nanocomposites analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), bright field transmission electron microscopy (TEMBF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that sintered composites retained the nanoscale characteristics of the initial Fe₃O₄ and Cu nanopowders. These nanocomposites have good cold-rolling deformability and Vickers micro-hardness. The Cu-xFe₃O₄ nanocomposites have thermal and magnetic properties that make them suitable for electronical applications.

Keywords: Vickers micro hardness; cold-rolling; copper; magnetic properties; magnetite; nanosize powders; powder metallurgy; sintering; thermal properties.