Production and characterization of Cu/graphite composite by electrical explosion

Metal–carbon materials are of great interest in many scientists due to the rich applications in various industries. Herein, we have demonstrated the rapid synthesis of Cu/graphite composite with characteristic of Cu nanoparticle size controllable in the graphite/ethyl alcohol turbid liquid by electrical explosion technology. The obtained Cu/graphite composite is characterized by TEM, ED, XRD, EDS, XPS and Raman spectrum. The results show that the Cu/graphite composite has been successfully synthesized in different charging voltages under a constant capacitance of 60 μF. The average size of Cu nanoparticles is less than 25 nm. It has also been found that the average nanoparticle size can be reduced by increasing the charging voltage. The Cu nanoparticles with uniform dispersion and less than 10 nm in size are synthesized under the charging voltage of 4000 V. Also, the obtained Cu/graphite composite shows the significant tribological behaviors.