Study on Microstructure and Properties of Silver-Plated Alumina-Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites

Zhang, Xinyue; Ye, Huadong; Liu, Ke; Dong, Pan; Chen, Yerong; Zou, Haohao

doi:10.3390/met16010046

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Study on Microstructure and Properties of Silver-Plated Alumina-Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites

by

Xinyue Zhang

,

Huadong Ye

^*,

Ke Liu

,

Pan Dong

,

Yerong Chen

and

Haohao Zou

^*

Key Laboratory of Advanced Structural Materials, Ministry of Education and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130012, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Metals 2026, 16(1), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/met16010046 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 27 November 2025 / Revised: 23 December 2025 / Accepted: 26 December 2025 / Published: 29 December 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Metal Matrix Composites)

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Abstract

Alumina (Al₂O₃) reinforced copper matrix composites are widely used in the electronic industry, rail transit, and other fields due to their excellent electrical conductivity, ductility, and wear resistance. However, due to problems such as non-wetting and thermal expansion differences between alumina and Cu, weak interfacial bonding can easily reduce physical and thermal properties. A uniform silver layer was deposited on Al₂O₃ via chemical plating to enhance interface bonding with copper. Al₂O₃@Ag/Cu composites with 1–3 wt.% Al₂O₃ were prepared by rapid hot-press sintering. The effects of plating temperature and Al₂O₃ content on microstructure and properties were investigated. The results show that the optimum coating temperature is 25 °C, and a thin and uniform silver coating can be formed. This effectively improved Al₂O₃–Cu interface bonding while maintaining 77.8% of copper’s thermal conductivity (320.7 W/(m·K)). The composites showed improved wear resistance with increasing Al₂O₃ content. At 3 wt.% Al₂O₃@Ag, the wear rate was 3.36 × 10⁻⁵ mm³/(N·m), 84.4% lower than pure copper, with plow groove wear as the main mechanism.

Keywords: copper matrix composites; Al₂O₃; thermal conductivity; mechanical properties; tribological property

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhang, X.; Ye, H.; Liu, K.; Dong, P.; Chen, Y.; Zou, H. Study on Microstructure and Properties of Silver-Plated Alumina-Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites. Metals 2026, 16, 46. https://doi.org/10.3390/met16010046

AMA Style

Zhang X, Ye H, Liu K, Dong P, Chen Y, Zou H. Study on Microstructure and Properties of Silver-Plated Alumina-Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites. Metals. 2026; 16(1):46. https://doi.org/10.3390/met16010046

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhang, Xinyue, Huadong Ye, Ke Liu, Pan Dong, Yerong Chen, and Haohao Zou. 2026. "Study on Microstructure and Properties of Silver-Plated Alumina-Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites" Metals 16, no. 1: 46. https://doi.org/10.3390/met16010046

APA Style

Zhang, X., Ye, H., Liu, K., Dong, P., Chen, Y., & Zou, H. (2026). Study on Microstructure and Properties of Silver-Plated Alumina-Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites. Metals, 16(1), 46. https://doi.org/10.3390/met16010046

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Study on Microstructure and Properties of Silver-Plated Alumina-Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites

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