Investigation on corrosion behavior of Cu–TiO2 nanocomposite synthesized by the use of SHS method

Abstract

Enhancing the copper-based composites with oxide nanoparticles attracts more attention and many routes are proposed. In this investigation, stoichiometric Cu–TiO2 nanocomposite is synthesized through the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, and the effect of additional Cu contents of 10, 20, 30 wt% on mechanical and physical features of this composite was evaluated. To investigate the obtained properties of specimens, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), micro-hardness, electrochemical impedance spectrometry and polarization tests were carried out. XRD results show that the metastable phase is formed within the synthesis. With increasing the Cu content, the amount of this phase is reduced. The maximum obtained Vickers micro-hardness is 369 HV for the sample, which contents 20 wt% Cu. Results show that the optimum excess copper content is 20 wt%. Also, EIS results show that an interaction between CuxO–TiO2 is decisive in the corrosion behavior of samples. Keywords: Cu–TiO2, Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, Micro-hardness, Corrosion resistance, Nanoparticles