JOURNAL OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS Article Microstructure, physical, and mechanical properties of the Cu/ (WC-TiC-Co) nano-composites by the electroless coating and powder metallurgy technique Hossam M Yehia Abstract In this research, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt.% of WC-TiC-Co particles were coated with a nano-particles layer of copper by the electro-less deposition technique. All the composites were compacted at 900 MPa, and then sintered at 1000 and 1100  C for 120 min in a hydrogen atmosphere furnace. Nano-composites, which sintered at 1100  C exhibit relative density higher than those sintered at 1000  C. To investigate the crystal structure and chemical composition of the WC-TiC-Co powders, XRD was used. SEM and EDAX analysis for the sintered samples were performed to investigate the microstructure and morphology of the composites. The relative density, hardness, electrical conductivity and yield stress based on the results of the hardness values were studied. The results revealed that the relative density, hardness, and the yield stress based on the results of the Vickers hardness were improved by increasing the WC-TiC-Co content. On the other hand, the electrical conductivity was decreased by increasing the WC-TiC-Co content. Keywords Electro-less copper coating, powder metallurgy, density, electrical conductivity, hardness, yield stress, tungsten carbide Introduction Copper is one of the most popular meal matrix com- posites which has advantages such as good electrical and thermal conductivity. It is widely used in industrial thermal and electronic packaging, electrical contacts and resistance welding electrodes. Regardless of the good electrical and thermal properties of copper, it suf- fers from high coefficient of thermal expansion and low mechanical properties, which decreases the lifespan of its component. 1–5 Refectory metals such as W and WC are very hard and brittle materials and when it is used along with a metallic binder like Cu, Co, and Ni, it becomes easy to deform and machine to different shapes. One of the most common copper-based composite materials is the copper-tungsten composite. It is a com- posite material which exhibits unique properties; it has advantages such as high electrical and thermal conduct- ivity, high melting point, high density, and easy to deform to a complex shape. In addition, it integrates high hardness and high strength. It has been widely used in applications that require high electrical and thermal conductivity, high mechanical properties, and low thermal expansion such as electrical contact, high voltage switches, circuit breakers, relays, heat sinks, and in electrode material for electrical discharge machining. 1,2 There are a number of features in using WC as reinforcement in copper-based composites instead of tungsten; it has a lower density (15.63 g/cm 3 ) as com- pared to tungsten (19.3 g/cm 3 ) which facilitates the homogeneous distribution of it in copper. Also its melt- ing point 2870  C is lower than that of the tungsten 3410  C. Tungsten carbide is much harder and tougher than tungsten, so that it is used to make cutting tools for machining, dies and armor-piercing ammunition among other things. Tungsten is not as durable or Faculty of Industrial Education, Helwan University, Egypt Corresponding author: Hossam M Yehia, Faculty of Industrial Education, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt. Email: hossamelkeber@techedu.helwan.edu.eg Journal of Composite Materials 0(0) 1–9 ! The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0021998318817355 journals.sagepub.com/home/jcm