The influence of minor titanium addition on thermal properties of diamond/copper composites via in situ reactive sintering

A minor amount of titanium addition is proposed to improve interfacial bonding between diamond particles and copper matrix for diamond/copper composites. The volume fractions of diamond and minor titanium in the sintering process are optimized. The microstructures, thermal properties, interface reaction production, and the effects of minor amount of titanium on the properties of the composites are investigated. The results show that the interfacial bonding of the composites could be strengthened by changing the volume fraction of titanium and diamond. The 45 vol%-diamond/copper composites with 3 vol% titanium at 945 °C for 5 min exhibits thermal conductivity as high as 670 W/(m K), which is 90% of the theoretical prediction value. High thermal conductivity is achieved by forming the titanium carbide (TiC) and intermetallic compounds (Cu3Ti2) at the diamond/copper interface to obtain a good interface.