Preparation of Cu–Cr alloy powder by mechanical alloying

• Traditional mechanical alloying approach and equipment was developed.
• Preparation temperature of Cu–Cr alloy was lowered in the modified mill.
• Reaction time of mechanical alloying was shortened from dozens of hours to a few.
• Purified Cu–Cr alloy nano-scale grains were prepared under optimum conditions.

A study of Cu–Cr alloy powder preparation by a newly developed mechanical alloying (MA) approach was conducted using a modified mill. Results showed that the preparation temperature was much lower in the tests employing modified mill than with traditional equipment, and that no distinct differences could be found in the products prepared by the vibratory and planetary mills. Active carbon powder was found to exhibit an excellent reducing capacity for metallic oxides, while graphite powder was found inappropriate in this process. Based on the experimental results, purified Cu–Cr alloy nano-scale grain can prepared by mechanical alloying in the modified mill at 325 °C for 3 h with a ball-to-powder mass ratio of 15:1. A crystal agglomeration phenomenon was also found in the final alloy powder, leading to an increase in particle size.