Preparation and near zero thermal expansion property of Mn3Cu0.5A0.5N (A = Ni, Sn)/Cu composites

In this work, Mn3Cu0.5A0.5N (A = Ni, Sn)/Cu composites with near zero thermal expansion property were successfully synthesized. It was found that the large positive thermal expansion of Cu can be effectively suppressed in the composite with the antiperovskite Mn3Cu0.5A0.5N (A = Ni, Sn). In particular, the composites show almost zero thermal expansion with a coefficient of thermal expansion of 4.7 × 10−7 K−1 in the temperature range 290–320 K. We suggest that this offers a new alternative for metal matrix composites with low and near zero thermal expansion properties.