Plasma assisted milling treatment for improving mechanical and electrical properties of in-situ grown graphene/copper composites

Copper matrix composites reinforced by in-situ grown graphene provides a promising approach to realize both high strength and high electrical conductivity in metallic conductors. However, in-situ growth on Cu powder usually cause wrinkles and thick layer thickness in the graphene, which could form defects in the final composites. Here, a method of plasma assisted ball milling is introduced to treat on the in-situ grown graphene/copper composite powders and ultimately modify the graphene/copper interface in the final composite. As compared to the counterpart composites without the modification, the final modified composites show higher strength and higher electrical conductivity while remains comparable ductility. The mechanisms for the improvements on the mechanical and electrical properties are also discussed based on its microstructure analysis. •Plasma assisted milling is introduced to modify in situ grown graphene/Cu composite powder.•Plasma assisted milling treatment improves both mechanical and electrical properties in Gr/Cu composites.•Mechasims on properties enhancement are analyzed based on microstructures.