Effect of tungsten coated AlN on microstructure and properties of AlN/W-Cu composites

AlN powders were coated with tungsten by sol-gel method, and then mixed with tungsten powders. The AlN/W-Cu composites with different AlN contents (0 − 8%) were prepared by infiltrating the porous AlN/W skeletons which were obtained by pressing and sintering the AlN/W powders mixes with Cu. The effects of the AlN contents on the microstructure and properties of the sintered simples were investigated and compared with those of the AlN/W-Cu composites prepared from uncoated AlN powders. The results show that the W particles are uniformly coated on the surface of AlN particles with good interfacial bonding. The relative density, hardness, tensile strength and thermal conductivity of the AlN/W-Cu composites prepared from tungsten-coated AlN powders are better than those of the AlN/W-Cu composites prepared from uncoated AlN powders. While the relative density, tensile strength and thermal conductivity of the AlN/W-Cu composites decrease with the increase of AlN content, the hardness increases with the increase of AlN content. The relative density of the AlN/W-Cu composites prepared from tungsten-coated AlN powders reaches 97.69%, the hardness reaches 277HV and the thermal conductivity reaches 205.54 W/(m·K) with addition of 2% AlN. © 2023 Central South University of Technology. All rights reserved.