Physical Properties and Precipitate Microstructures of Cu-Hf Alloys at Different Processing Stages.

The microstructural evolution and hardness and physical properties of a Cu-Hf alloy at the different processing stages were investigated using hardness, conductivity and tensile measurements, metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results reveal that the electrical conductivity of these alloys was above 80% IACS after aging at 450°C, and the hardness and conductivity of the Cu-0.9Hf alloy were 180 HV0.5 and 80% IACS, respectively. The softening temperature of the Cu-0.15Hf alloy is 525°C, and the softening temperature of Cu-0.4Hf and Cu-0.9Hf alloys is 550°C. The precipitated Hf-containing phase exhibited a short rod-like structure, the size of which increased with aging time at a slow rate and resulted in the size of ~20 nm after aging at 450°C for 300 min.