Microstructure and properties of Mo-50%Cu alloy by mechanical milling and pressure-assisted solid state sintering

Mo-50%Cu alloy was fabricated by mechanical milling and pressure-assisted solid state sintering under vacuum. Both the microstructure/morphology of the as-milled Mo/Cu composite powders and the microstructure and physical, mechanical properties of the as-sintered alloy were investigated. The results show that the pressure-assisted solid state sintering process is a feasible way to fabricate highly-densified Mo-Cu alloy product with high content of Cu. By mechanical milling, the Mo phases can be refined markedly and distributed more uniformly in the Mo/Cu composite powders and the as-sintered Mo-Cu alloy. For the Mo-50%Cu alloy fabricated by the present study, the Mo phases are found to be very fine and dispersed homogeneously in the Cu matrix, with no connecting skeleton structure of Mo observed. Therefore, the negative effect of Mo on the conductivity is weakened, and the strengthening effect of Mo is increased, resulting in a good combination of physical and mechanical properties.