Effect of Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Preparation of High Strength and Conductive Copper-CNTs Composites by Electrodeposition

Abstract

Functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-reinforced copper (Cu) composites were prepared by the combination of electrowinning and hot-pressing sintering and cold rolling process. The influence of the functionalization of MWCNTs on the strength and electrical properties of MWCNTs/Cu composites was studied. Functional group was introduced to increase the wetting of water electrolytes, improve the poor wettability of MWCNTs and form a highly active surface suitable for the preparation of MWCNTs/Cu composites by electro-deposition, enabling MWCNTs to be evenly dispersed in Cu matrix. Studies have shown that the addition of 1% of functionalized MWCNTs composite can increase the tensile strength by 6% and 165% compared with the addition of unfunctionalized and pure copper. It’s worth noting that the increase of oxygen-containing functional group brought about by functionalized MWCNTs did not significantly reduce the electrical properties of composites. The main reason for this is the good dispersion of the treated MWCNTs in Cu matrix and the bridging for electronic transmission, ensuring that the high electrical properties of MWCNTs/Cu composites are just slightly lower than those of electrolytic pure copper (99.92% IACS).