Melting Preparation for Tungsten‐Doped Graphene/Copper Composites

ABSTRACT Melting production plays a pivotal role in the modern copper industry. However, applying this process to fabricate nanocarbon (e.g., graphene, carbon nanotubes)‐reinforced copper matrix composites has remained a long‐standing challenge for nearly 2 decades. In this study, a melting preparation strategy for Graphene–Cu (Gr/Cu) composites was developed by introducing tungsten‐doped graphene (W–Gr) into molten Cu, effectively improving the wettability and density compatibility between graphene (Gr) and molten Cu. The contact angle between W–Gr and molten Cu decreases to 80.4°, while the density of W–Gr increases to 9.5 g cm −3 . W–Gr sheets containing 13 at% and 18 at% tungsten (designated as 13W–Gr and 18W–Gr) disperse uniformly within the Cu matrix. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that W–Gr can spontaneously disperse in molten Cu when the surface area fraction of WC on W–Gr exceeds 45.8%. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 13W–Gr/Cu reaches 152 MPa in the as‐cast state and 449 MPa after cold rolling. The electrical conductivity of 13W–Gr/Cu reaches 100.4% international annealed copper standard (IACS) at 20°C, and is 1.5% higher than that of pure Cu at 180°C. This work overcomes the challenges of fabricating Gr/Cu composites via the melting process, provides a viable approach for their large‐scale industrial production.