There is a significant demand for Cu-based materials with high strength and high electrical conductivity for a wide range of applications. However, the long-standing trade-off between mechanical properties and electrical conductivity often inhibits the development of such high-performance Cu materials. Cu-based metal matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) are promising to mitigate this trade-off, but it is extremely difficult to fabricate bulk MMNCs with a uniform nanoparticle dispersion through an economical approach. In this study, a novel molten salt-assisted incorporation method was developed to fabricate bulk Cu-based nanocomposites with uniformly dispersed WC nanoparticles. The mechanical properties, including hardness, strength and Young's modulus, were significantly enhanced without a great sacrifice in electrical conductivity. Furthermore, various salts, including KAlF₄, borax, and NaCl, were found effective to incorporate WC nanoparticles into molten Cu. This molten salt-assisted incorporation method paves a pathway for the scalable manufacturing of bulk Cu-based MMNCs with excellent mechanical properties and good electrical conductivity for widespread applications.

对于用于广泛应用的具有高强度和高电导率的Cu基材料存在大量需求。然而，机械性能和电导率之间长期的权衡取舍常常阻碍了这种高性能Cu材料的发展。铜基金属基质纳米复合材料（MMNC）有望减轻这种折衷，但是通过经济的方法来制造具有均匀纳米颗粒分散性的块状MMNC非常困难。在这项研究中，开发了一种新颖的熔融盐辅助掺入方法，以制备具有均匀分散的WC纳米颗粒的块状Cu基纳米复合材料。包括硬度，强度和杨氏模量在内的机械性能得到了显着提高，而不会大幅牺牲导电性。此外，_发现4，硼砂和NaCl有效地将WC纳米颗粒掺入熔融Cu中。这种熔融盐辅助的掺入方法为大规模生产基于Cu的MMNC具有良好的机械性能和良好的电导率的可扩展生产铺平了道路。