Microstructural characterization and electrochemical behavior of nano/ ultrafine grained pure copper through constrained groove pressing (CGP)

Abstract

This study presents microstructural, electrochemical, and mechanical characterizations on pure copper fabricated using constrained groove pressing (CGP) in quiescent phosphate buffer solution (pH = 11.73). We tested the effect of surface modifications on electrochemical features using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Mott–Schottky analysis. A three-dimensional simulation via finite element modeling evaluates the CGP effects on the maximum principal stress and the plastic strain distribution. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs confirm that the increasing CGP cycles result in a nano/ultrafine grain microstructure. Our electrochemical study showed that the CGP process can positively impact the passive behavior of pure copper. Mott–Schottky analyses illustrated that the point defect densities decline in the p-type semiconducting passive layer upon receiving CGP. Besides, increasing the CGP cycles lowers the corrosion current density and produces less defective passive films.