Microstructure and properties of Al2O3 dispersion-strengthened copper fabricated by reactive synthesis process

Al2O3 dispersion-strengthened copper alloy was prepared by reactive synthesis and spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. Studies show that nano-sized gamma-Al2O3 particles with 27.4 nm mean size and 50-nm interval are homogeneously distributed in copper matrix. The density of SPS alloy is about 99 %, meanwhile, the electrical conductivity of sintered alloy is 72 % IACS and the Rockwell hardness can reach to HRB 91.