Fabrication and tribological properties of copper matrix composite with short carbon fiber/reduced graphene oxide filler

• Copper matrix composites with novel hybrid filler were facilely fabricated.
• The short carbon fiber presents the various space orientations.
• The rGO or rGO/CF fillers effectively reduced the friction coefficient of Cu matrix.
• The best excellent wear resistance of the composite with rGO/CF hybrid filler.

Copper matrix composite with short carbon fiber(CF)/reduced graphene oxide(rGO) hybrid filler have been fabricated by freeze-drying and spark plasma sintering. Microstructure and tribological properties of as-prepared composites were characterized. The microstructural observation shows that the rGO exhibits both agglomerated and dispersed states, and the uniform CF presents the various space orientations in the Cu matrix. The composite with CF/rGO hybrid filler exhibited the lower friction coefficient (0.32), and whose wear rates decreased respectively by 45.3% and 86.0% in comparison with pure Cu and the composite with rGO filler. The CF/rGO hybrids act as solid lubricant and play the major role in the improved tribological performance. The formation, friction-reducing and anti-wear mechanisms of the composite were discussed.