Abstract
The effect of interaction between Ce and P on the microstructure and properties of copper has been rarely reported. In this study, it was investigated by utilising the OM, EPMA, SEM and TEM techniques, combined with conductivity and tensile tests. The results indicated that the grain size and conductivity of as-cast copper could be significantly influenced by the interaction. More importantly, the plasticity of as-cast copper did not seriously damage by the interaction, and the elongation of as-cast 3# (Cu-0.016P-0.075Ce) was still up to 39.3%. This is due to a strong binding force of the coherent interface between CeP and copper.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52071133) and (51904090). Also, thanks to the Sinoma Institute of Materials Research, the TEM work (preparation, imaging, data collection) was done completely by this institute (commercial analysis).
In addition, this article briefly introduces the contributions of the authors: Jin-Tao Song: article polishing, revision and reply to review comments, Yu-Duo Fu: wrote the first draft of the article, Ke-Xing Song: finalisation of manuscript, Qian-Qian Zhu and Xiao-Wen Peng: made the project, Yun-Xiao Hua: data evaluation about the TEM work, Yan-jun Zhou: SEM and EDX, Xiu-Hua Guo: optical micrograph (OM), Shi-zhong An and Ying-xuan Ma: sample preparation and mechanical tests.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).