Mechanical alloying and sintering of nanostructured TiO2 reinforced copper composite and its characterization

•Synthesis of Cu–TiO2 nano-composite by mechanical alloying.•Characterization of Cu–TiO2 nano-composite properties.•Effect of milling time on synthesis and properties of Cu–TiO2 nano-composite.

Mechanical alloying is a suitable method for producing copper based composites. Cu–TiO2 composite was fabricated using high energy ball milling and conventional consolidation. Ball milling was performed at different milling durations (0–24 h) to investigate the effects of the milling time on the formation and properties of produced nanostructured Cu–TiO2 composites. The amount of the TiO2 in the final composition of the composite assumed to be 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7 wt%. The milled composite powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy to investigate the effects of the milling time on the formation of the composite and its properties. Also hardness, density and electrical conductivity of the sintered specimen were measured. High energy ball milling causes a high density of defects in the powders. Thus the Cu crystallite size decreases, generally to less than 50 nm. The maximum hardness value (105 HV) of the sintered compacts belongs to Cu–5 wt%TiO2 which has been milled for 12 h.