Scalable Manufacturing of AgCu40(wt%)-WC Nanocomposite Microwires

Nanoparticle reinforced metals recently emerge as a new class of materials to empower the functionality of metallic materials. There is a remarkable success in self-incorporation of nanoparticles to bulk metals for extraordinary properties. There is also a strong demand to use nanoparticles to enhance the performance of metallic microwires for exciting opportunities in numerous applications. Here, we show for the first time that silver-copper alloy (AgCu) reinforced by tungsten carbide (WC) (AgCu40(wt%)-WC) was manufactured by a stir casting method utilizing a nanoparticle self-dispersion mechanism. The nanocomposite microwires were successfully fabricated using thermal drawing method. By introducing WC nanoparticles into bulk AgCu40 alloy, the Vickers microhardness was enhanced by 63% with 22 vol % WC nanoparticles, while the electrical conductivity dropped to 20.1% International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS). The microwires of AgCu40-10 vol % WC offered an ultimate tensile strength of 354 MPa, an enhancement of 74% from the pure alloy, and an elongation of 5.2%. The scalable manufacturing method provides a new pathway for the production of metallic nanocomposite micro/nanowires with outstanding performance for widespread applications, e.g., in biomedical, brazing, and electronics industries.