A Cu210C nanocomposite has been synthesised by high energy milling of elemental powders, followed by annealing at 873 K. Phase identification and microstructure characterisation have been carried out with transmission electron microscopy. Copper grain size ranged from 10 to 120 nm for the as milled material and from 10 to 150 nm after annealing. No graphite reflections could be detected by electron diffraction in either the as milled or annealed samples. Nevertheless, both conditions contain clusters of carbon of ,10 nm, which could be of benefit for sliding wear applications. The lattice parameter measured after milling is compatible with a carbon solubility in the copper matrix ,0 . 1 at.-%. The synthesised material showed excellent structural stability at 873 K, which is proposed to be dependent on solute drag effects resulting from boundary segregation. In fact, no grain boundary pinning by nanoparticles has been detected while a decrease in lattice parameter occurred during annealing.
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