Electrical Conductivity of Cu and Cu-2vol.% Nb Powders and the Effect of Varying Sintering Temperatures on their Mechanical Properties Using Spark Plasma Sintering

The growing demand for relatively inexpensive non-hazardous copper alloys with a good combination of electrical conductivity and high strength has led to increasing researches on Cu-Nb alloys for their excellent predictions over Cu-Be alloys. Cu-2vol.% Nb was produced using spark plasma sintering and the effect of the additive on its electrical conductivity, densification, hardness, corrosion resistance and wear resistance were investigated. It was observed that the additive improved the electrical conductivity of Cu powder from 0.28 to 5.89 S/m within 19–406 ∘ C. Relative densities of 97.08% for Cu-2vol.% Nb and 97.33% for pure Cu were obtained at 600 ∘ C, while at 650 ∘ C, they were 96.08 and 96.82% respectively. The microhardness values were 77 and 72 Hv 0.1 at 600 ∘ C, while at 650 ∘ C, they were 83 and 66 Hv 0.1 for Cu-2vol.% Nb and pure Cu respectively. The corrosion potential of Cu-2vol.% Nb was noble with a lower anodic current density, suggesting better corrosion resistance at 600 ∘ C. Cu-2vol.% Nb showed a better wear resistance at 600 ∘ C and an improved electrical conductivity at 650 ∘ C.