Effect of Mechanical Milling on Microstructure and Distribution of CNTs During Fabrication of Copper Reinforced with Carbon Nanotubes Nanocomposite

In this research, copper reinforced with 1 wt.% carbon nanotubes were produced using mechanical milling process. The composite powders size and morphology were evaluated by SEM and changes of matrix structure were evaluated by X-ray diffraction method and Williamson Hall equation. The results showed that the powders morphology and the matrix grain size reached to a steady state condition after 16 h mechanical milling. Also, investigation of CNTs structure by Raman spectroscopy showed that the structure of CNTs slightly changes during mechanical milling. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the mechanical milling time by changing the milling condition.