High temperature oxidation resistance of electrodeposited Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO) reinforced copper coating

The current work elaborates the oxidation behavior of pure Cu coating (copper coating on copper substrate) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) reinforced copper coating on copper substrate prepared by direct current (DC) electro-codeposition. The isothermal oxidation of all the coated specimens was carried out at 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 of the melting temperature of pure copper for 30 h. Isothermal oxidation plots at 406, 542, and 678 degrees C temperatures confirmed better oxidation resistance of the composite coatings than that of the pure copper coating. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results of the coatings after oxidation showed the presence of RGO, copper oxide (CuO) and cuprous oxide (Cu2O) along with small Cu peaks. Microstructural analysis revealed that not only the RGO content in the composite matrix but also the structure of the coating matrix greatly influenced the oxidation behavior of the coating. X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS) results of the coatings after oxidation showed improved oxidation resistance of composite coatings as compared to the pure Cu coating.