Fabrication of Mo–Cu composites by a diffusion-rolling procedure

• The effects open new avenues of processing refractory metal by plastic deformation.
• Ultrathin Cu–Mo–Cu sheet and Mo–Cu alloy were fabricated by this procedure.
• After rolling, the interfacial strength of diffusion bonded Cu–Mo–Cu sheet was enhanced.
• HR-TEM revealed that atomic-level interdiffusion of Mo and Cu was present.

A plastic deformation approach to Mo matrix composites remains a longstanding challenge in the processing of refractory metal. Toward this objective, we explored a selective fabrication of the diffusion-rolling procedure. With diffusion bonding initially, a primary sandwich sheet was achieved. The interfacial strength of Mo/Cu was enhanced by the plastic deformation after rolling. Ultrathin Cu–Mo–Cu sheet and Mo–Cu alloy sheet with Cu matrix containing distributed uniformly fibrous Mo were fabricated. HR-TEM analysis revealed that atomic-level interdiffusion of Mo and Cu was present at the interface. Therefore, it is concluded that the diffusion-rolling procedure can be potentially employed as a joining method for the fabrication of Mo–Cu composites.