Structural investigation of vacuum sintered Cu–Cr and Cu–Cr–4% SiC nanocomposites prepared by mechanical alloying

Attempts have been made to synthesize Cu99Cr1, Cu94Cr6, Cu99Cr1–4% SiC and Cu94Cr6–4% SiC (∼30 nm) nanocomposites for thermo-electric applications. The blend compositions were ball-milled for 50 h in a stainless steel grinding media. The microstructural features were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Nano zeta sizer, Fourier transforms infrared radiation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Analysis of crystallite size, lattice microstrain and lattice parameter of Cu revealed that the dissolution of Cr increased up to 1 at.% in presence of nanosize SiC particles during milling. The compact specimens were subjected to vacuum sintering (900 °C and 1000 °C for 1 h), and the results were compared with that of microwave sintered samples. The mechanical properties like Vickers hardness and electrical conductivity of the sintered specimens were also investigated.