Preparation and Mechanical Property of Graphene-reinforced Copper Matrix Composites

Graphene, which has two-dimensional carbon single atomic layer, attracts great attention due to its superb mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. In addition to its excellent mechanical properties, a large surface area (about 2600 m 2 g -1 ) makes it an ideal reinforcement for copper-based composites. However, graphene owns a low density (2.2 gcm -3 ), while the density of copper is about 8.9 gcm -3 . The traditional powder metallurgy process is difficult to solve the problem of uniform dispersion of graphene in the copper matrix and the poor bonding strength between graphene and copper due to the huge density difference between copper and graphene. With the in-depth exploration in the issue of graphene/copper interface in recent years, some novel preparation processes and strengthening mechanisms were proposed and demonstrated. This review systematically introduces and compares the recently-developed preparation processes of graphene-reinforced copper composites, also summarizes the mechanism of mechanical enhancement in graphene-reinforced copper matrix composites.