Abstract A graphene defect engineering strategy was proposed in this work to tailor the interface and mechanical properties of graphene/Cu composites. Plasma treatment was used to create surface defects (5–10 nm nanopores) on the basal-plane of starting graphene material but without considerably damaging the graphene structure. It was demonstrated that the CuxOy oxides were in situ formed at the defect sites of plasma-treated graphene in the sintering process, which played a bridging role in enhancing the interfacial adhesion of graphene with Cu matrix. Compared to the composites with untreated graphene, the composites with plasma-treated graphene exhibited a higher strength enhancement, and better interface stability in response to thermal cycling, which was ascribed to the CuxOy-coordinated improved interfacial bonding that provided efficient load transfer and thermal stress relaxation. Nevertheless, the overlong plasma treatment could severely damage the graphene structure and result in a reduced strength enhancement. This study suggests that the rational defect engineering of graphene is an efficient approach for optimizing the interface and mechanical properties of graphene/metal composites.

中文翻译：

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用于优化石墨烯/铜复合材料界面和机械性能的石墨烯缺陷工程

摘要 在这项工作中提出了一种石墨烯缺陷工程策略来定制石墨烯/铜复合材料的界面和机械性能。等离子体处理用于在起始石墨烯材料的基面上产生表面缺陷（5-10 nm 纳米孔），但不会显着破坏石墨烯结构。结果表明，CuxOy 氧化物是在烧结过程中在等离子体处理的石墨烯的缺陷位点原位形成的，这在增强石墨烯与 Cu 基体的界面粘附方面起到了桥梁作用。与未经处理的石墨烯复合材料相比，经过等离子体处理的石墨烯复合材料表现出更高的强度增强和更好的界面稳定性，以响应热循环，这归因于 CuxOy 协调的改进的界面结合，提供了有效的负载转移和热应力松弛。然而，过长的等离子体处理可能会严重损坏石墨烯结构并导致强度增强降低。这项研究表明，石墨烯的合理缺陷工程是优化石墨烯/金属复合材料的界面和机械性能的有效方法。