Influence of Al2O3 sol concentration on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu–Al2O3 composite coatings.

Copper (Cu) is widely used as electrical conducting and contacting material. However, Cu is soft and does not have good mechanical properties. In order to improve the hardness and wear resistance of Cu, sol-enhanced Cu–Al2O3 nanocomposite coatings were electroplated by adding a transparent Al oxide (Al2O3) sol into the traditional electroplating Cu solution. It was found that the microstructure and mechanical properties of the nanocomposite coatings were largely influenced by the Al2O3 sol concentration. The results show that the Al2O3 nanoparticle reinforced the composite coatings, resulting in significantly improved hardness and wear resistance in comparison with the pure Cu coatings. The coating prepared at the sol concentration of 3.93 mol/L had the best microhardness and wear resistance. The microhardness has been improved by ~20% from 145.5 HV (Vickers hardness number) of pure Cu coating to 173.3 HV of Cu–Al2O3 composite coatings. The wear resistance was also improved by ~84%, with the wear volume loss dropped from 3.2 × 10-3 mm3 of Cu coating to 0.52 × 10-3 mm3 of composite coatings. Adding excessive sol to the electrolyte deteriorated the properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]