Nano-structured Cu, Cu-10wt%Zn and Cu-2wt%Al, with stacking-fault energies of 78, 35 and 37mJ/m2, respectively, were prepared by high-energy ball milling. X-ray diffraction and Vickers microhardness testing were used to investigate the microstructure and microhardness of the samples following ball milling. The X-ray diffraction measurements indicated that lower stacking-fault energies led both to a decrease in grain size and an increase in microstrain, dislocation and twin densities for Cu-10wt%Zn and Cu-2wt%Al after 5h of ball milling. The microhardness of Cu-10wt%Zn and Cu-2wt%Al reached almost the same value (2.5GPa) after 5h of ball milling, which was higher than that (2.0GPa) for Cu.

Influence of Stacking Fault Energy on Defect Structures and Microhardness of Cu and Cu Alloys. J.M.Tao, D.Li, C.J.Li, X.K.Zhu: Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 2011, 11[12], 10967-70