Preparation and Properties of W-15Cu Composite by Electroless Plating and Powder Metallurgy

W-15Cu composite samples were prepared by electroless plating (for composite powder) and powder metallurgy (for sintering samples). Starting W powder was activated by a chemical pretreatment first, and then the pretreated W powder was electroless plating to get Cu-cladded W powder, which was pressed into green compacts at different pressing pressures. Afterward, the composite was sintered into W-15Cu composite samples, and Cu-cladded W powder was characterized. The relative density, hardness, compressive strength and electrical conductivity of the composite samples were tested. The morphologies of the Cu-cladded W powder and the samples were investigated. Results show that the prepared powder has good compaction behavior with high purity, uniform particle size and a dense Cu cladding layer. W particles still remain sole ones and no obvious grain coarsening appears in the sintering samples, while 3D Cu network is all over the structure of the samples. The electrical conductivity and the compressive strength of the sample change with pressing pressure and sintering temperature.