Progresses in Alloying Effect on Phase Formation and Properties of High-strength and High-conductivity Cu-Cr Alloys

SHANG Yu; CEN Guibin; YAN Xuehua; WU Jili; LU Tao

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.02.023

PDF(10345 KB)

Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (2) : 248-258. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.02.023

Copper Alloy Forming

Progresses in Alloying Effect on Phase Formation and Properties of High-strength and High-conductivity Cu-Cr Alloys

SHANG Yu¹, CEN Guibin¹, YAN Xuehua¹, WU Jili^1,*, LU Tao²

Author information +

History +

Abstract

High-strength and high-conductivity copper alloys serve as key materials in rail transit, power transmission, and electronic packaging, where the synergistic optimization of strength and electrical conductivity remains a central research challenge. As a representative material system, Cu-Cr alloys struggle to simultaneously achieve both properties. This paper systematically reviews recent progress in composition design and phase formation mechanisms of Cu-Cr alloys, emphasizing the regulatory role of multi-component alloying strategies on microstructure and performance. Studies demonstrate that Mg suppresses precipitate coarsening through interfacial enrichment while promoting heterogeneous nucleation of nano-Cr phases, whereas Si can reduce stacking fault energy thus accelerate Cr precipitation and induce twin strengthening. Zr effectively can refine grains but it needs mitigation of oxidation during melting, while Ti can enhance thermal stability by forming Cr-depleted zones via rapid diffusion. Ag can optimize dendritic morphology at the expense of higher costs, and Nb can significantly improve strength and high-temperature performance by forming high-melting-point Cr₂Nb phases with Cr. Notably, the synergistic interaction of Mg and Si may introduce Laves phases (e.g., Cu₂Mg, Mg₂Si), offering novel strategies to balance strength and plasticity. Further analysis reveals the coupled effects of deformation, solid solution, precipitation, and grain refinement on mechanical properties and conductivity. While severe plastic deformation markedly enhances strength, it drastically degrades conductivity. In contrast, nano-precipitates such as Cr and Cu4Sc enable strength breakthroughs under high conductivity through the Orowan mechanism. Building on these findings, this study proposes an alloy design framework centered on establishing a “composition-structure-property” mapping relationship, and highlights emerging trends involving novel precipitates (e.g., Laves phases) and multi-scale simulation methods. These insights provide theoretical and technical foundations for designing advanced Cu-Cr-based alloys, paving the way for their expanded applications in high-temperature environments, electronic packaging, and extreme operational conditions.

Key words

high-strength and high-conductivity / Cu-Cr alloys / alloying / phase formation / property

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

SHANG Yu, CEN Guibin, YAN Xuehua, WU Jili, LU Tao. Progresses in Alloying Effect on Phase Formation and Properties of High-strength and High-conductivity Cu-Cr Alloys[J]. Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering. 2026, 18(2): 248-258 https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.02.023

References

[1] WANG Z, LI J, FAN Z Z, et al.Effects of Co Addition on the Microstructure and Properties of Elastic Cu-Ni-Si-Based Alloys for Electrical Connectors[J]. Materials, 2021, 14(8): 1996.
[2] CHBIHI A, SAUVAGE X, BLAVETTE D.Atomic Scale Investigation of Cr Precipitation in Copper[J]. Acta Materialia, 2012, 60(11): 4575-4585.
[3] HUANG Z K, SHI R H, XIAO X Y, et al.Mechanism Investigation on High-Performance Cu-Cr-Ti Alloy via Integrated Computational Materials Engineering[J]. Materials Today Communications, 2021, 27: 102378.
[4] LU L, SHEN Y F, CHEN X H, et al.Ultrahigh Strength and High Electrical Conductivity in Copper[J]. Science, 2004, 304(5669): 422-426.
[5] 赵龙志, 李根, 马现军, 等. 基体合金强化对铜基复合材料摩擦性能的影响[J]. 中国有色金属学报, 2025, 35(2): 529-537.
[6] ZHAO L Z, LI G, MA X J, et al.Effect of Matrix Alloy Strengthening on Tribological Properties of Copper Matrix Composites[J]. The Chinese Journal of Nonferrous Metals, 2025, 35(2): 529-537.
[7] 张洪涛. 高性能铜合金成分与工艺机器学习理性设计研究[D]. 北京: 北京科技大学, 2023.
[8] ZHANG H T.Rational Design of Composition and Process for High Performance Copper Alloys via Machine Learning[D]. Beijing: University of Science and Technology Beijing, 2023.
[9] 龚清华, 刘健, 陈辉明, 等. Co对Cu-Cr合金组织和性能的影响[J]. 金属热处理, 2022, 47(10): 94-98.
[10] GONG Q H, LIU J, CHEN H M, et al.Effect of Co on Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Cr Alloy[J]. Heat Treatment of Metals, 2022, 47(10): 94-98.
[11] 胡莹琳. γ'相增强耐热铜合金的多元合金化研究[D]. 大连: 大连理工大学, 2024.
[12] HU Y L.Research on Multi-component Alloying of Heat-resistant Copper Alloys Strengthened by γ′-phase[D]. Dalian: Dalian University of Technology, 2024.
[13] 王金鼎, 焦祥祎, 丁桦. 微合金化Cu-Cr-Zr合金时效析出动力学研究[J]. 精密成形工程, 2024, 16(9): 95-101.
[14] WANG J D, JIAO X Y, DING H.Precipitation Kinetics of Aging of Microalloyed Cu-Cr-Zr Alloys[J]. Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering, 2024, 16(9): 95-101.
[15] LI R G, ZHANG S R, ZOU C L, et al.The Roles of Hf Element in Optimizing Strength, Ductility and Electrical Conductivity of Copper Alloys[J]. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2019, 758: 130-138.
[16] YANG H Y, BU Y Q, WU J M, et al.High Strength, High Conductivity and Good Softening Resistance Cu-Fe-Ti Alloy[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2022, 925: 166595.
[17] TAKAHASHI T, HASHIMOTO Y.Preparation of Dispersion-Strengthened Coppers with NbC and TaC by Mechanical Alloying[J]. Materials Transactions, JIM, 1991, 32(4): 389-397.
[18] YANG H Y, MA Z C, LEI C H, et al.High Strength and High Conductivity Cu Alloys: A Review[J]. Science China Technological Sciences, 2020, 63(12): 2505-2517.
[19] 梁海成, 惠文芃, 陈帅峰, 等. 固溶处理及工艺路径对Cu-Ni-Si-Co合金板材性能的影响[J]. 精密成形工程, 2024, 16(7): 144-152.
[20] LIANG H C, HUI W P, CHEN S F, et al.Effect of Solid Treatment and Process Route on Properties of Cu-Ni-Si- Co Alloy Sheet[J]. Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering, 2024, 16(7): 144-152.
[21] 郑江鹏, 扈金富, 王家赞, 等. 铜及铜合金激光熔化焊接工艺的研究进展[J]. 热加工工艺, 2024, 53(13): 6-12.
[22] ZHENG J P, HU J F, WANG J Z, et al.Progress of Laser Fusion Welding Technology of Copper and Its Alloy[J]. Hot Working Technology, 2024, 53(13): 6-12.
[23] 朱亚丹, 田文斌, 齐林, 等. 退火温度对小变形拉拔Cu-0.08Ag合金组织性能的影响[J]. 精密成形工程, 2024, 16(6): 164-172.
[24] ZHU Y D, TIAN W B, QI L, et al.Effect of Annealing Temperature on Microstructure and Properties of Cu-0.08Ag Alloy with Small Deformation[J]. Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering, 2024, 16(6): 164-172.
[25] MOTT N F, NABARRO F R N. An Attempt to Estimate the Degree of Precipitation Hardening, with a Simple Model[J]. Proceedings of the Physical Society, 1940, 52(1): 86-88.
[26] LI J Q, ZHANG H T, SUN J T, et al.Design of Low- Alloying and High-Performance Solid Solution-Strengthened Copper Alloys with Element Substitution for Sustainable Development[J]. International Journal of Minerals Metallurgy and Materials, 2024, 31(5): 826-832.
[27] 戴杰. 高强高导Cu-Cr-Mg-Si合金成分设计及组织性能研究[D]. 长沙: 中南大学, 2022.
[28] DAI J.Study on Composition Design, Microstructure and Properties of High Strength and High Conductivity Cu-Cr-Mg-Si Alloy[D]. Changsha: Central South University, 2022.
[29] VINOGRADOV A, PATLAN V, SUZUKI Y, et al.Structure and Properties of Ultra-Fine Grain Cu-Cr-Zr Alloy Produced by Equal-Channel Angular Pressing[J]. Acta Materialia, 2002, 50(7): 1639-1651.
[30] WANG H, GONG L K, LIAO J F, et al.Retaining Meta-Stable FCC-Cr Phase by Restraining Nucleation of Equilibrium BCC-Cr Phase in CuCrZrTi Alloys during Ageing[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2018, 749: 140-145.
[31] PENG H C, XIE W B, CHEN H M, et al.Effect of Micro-Alloying Element Ti on Mechanical Properties of Cu-Cr Alloy[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2021, 852: 157004.
[32] KIM K T, JUNG W J, CHOI C S.Influence of Alloying Elements on Thermal Conductivity and High Temperature Strength of Copper Based Alloys[J]. Materials Science and Technology, 2001, 17(4): 455-458.
[33] CHENG J Y, YU F X, SHEN B.Solute Clusters and Chemistry in a Cu-Cr-Zr-Mg Alloy during the Early Stage of Aging[J]. Materials Letters, 2014, 115: 201-204.
[34] ZHAO Z Q, XIAO Z, LI Z, et al.Effect of Magnesium on Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Cr Alloy[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2018, 752: 191-197.
[35] SUN Y Q, PENG L J, HUANG G J, et al.Effect of Mg on the Stress Relaxation Resistance of Cu-Cr Alloys[J]. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2021, 799: 140144.
[36] XIANG C J, LI X J, MO Y D, et al.Effect of Combined Addition of Zr and Mg on the Microstructure and Properties of a Cu-Cr-Sn-Zn Alloy for Etching Lead Frame[J]. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2024, 912: 146990.
[37] 邬善江, 王俊峰, 钟淑伟, 等. 微量Mg元素添加对Cu-Cr合金析出行为及性能的影响[J]. 材料研究学报, 2019, 33(7): 552-560.
[38] WU S J, WANG J F, ZHONG S W, et al.Effect of Trace Mg Addition on Precipitation Behavior and Properties of Cu-Cr Alloy[J]. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2019, 33(7): 552-560.
[39] LI L J, KANG H J, ZHANG S R, et al.Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Cr-Zr (Mg) Alloys Subjected to Cryorolling and Aging Treatment[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2023, 938: 168656.
[40] WANG W, ZHANG Y H, YANG H T, et al.Effects of Si Addition on Properties and Microstructure of CuCrZr Alloy[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2022, 906: 164277.
[41] WEN H M, TOPPING T D, ISHEIM D, et al.Strengthening Mechanisms in a High-Strength Bulk Nanostructured Cu-Zn-Al Alloy Processed via Cryomilling and Spark Plasma Sintering[J]. Acta Materialia, 2013, 61(8): 2769-2782.
[42] LI L H, ZHANG Y F, MA M Z, et al.Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Cr-Mg and Cu-Cr-Mg-Si Alloys Treated by Multi-Stage Thermo-Mechanical Treatment[J]. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2023, 887: 145746.
[43] QU J P, YUE S P, ZHANG W S, et al.Revealing Trace Si Effect on Precipitation Behavior and Properties of Cu-Cr-Zr Alloy: Experiments and First-Principles Calculations[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2022, 910: 164945.
[44] 杜宜博, 周延军, 宋克兴, 等. Si对Cu-0.21 mass%Cr合金富Cr析出相和性能的影响[J]. 材料热处理学报, 2022, 43(5): 49-54.
[45] DU Y B, ZHOU Y J, SONG K X, et al.Effect of Si on Cr-Rich Precipitates and Properties of Cu-0.21 mass%Cr Alloy[J]. Transactions of Materials and Heat Treatment, 2022, 43(5): 49-54.
[46] WASAI K, MUKAI K.Mechanism of Formation of Amorphous Silica Inclusion in Silicon Deoxidized Copper[J]. ISIJ International, 2003, 43(5): 606-611.
[47] WU X, ZHANG J X, ZHAO J, et al.Enhancing the Strength and Conductivity of Commercialized Cu-Cr-Zr Plate through Simple High Strain Cold Rolling and Aging[J]. Materials Characterization, 2023, 205: 113213.
[48] CHEN J S, WANG J F, XIAO X P, et al.Contribution of Zr to Strength and Grain Refinement in CuCrZr Alloy[J]. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2019, 756: 464-473.
[49] TIAN W, BI L M, MA F C, et al.Effect of Zr on As-Cast Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Cr Alloy[J]. Vacuum, 2018, 149: 238-247.
[50] SARKEEVA E A, SITDIKOV V D, RAAB G I, et al.The Effect of Cr and Zr Content on the Microstructure and Properties of the Cu-Cr-Zr System Alloy[J]. Materials Science and Engineering, 2018, 447: 012065.
[51] LIU Y, LI Z, JIANG Y X, et al.The Microstructure Evolution and Properties of a Cu-Cr-Ag Alloy during Thermal-Mechanical Treatment[J]. Journal of Materials Research, 2017, 32(7): 1324-1332.
[52] WANG W Y, ZHU J L, QIN N N, et al.Effects of Minor Rare Earths on the Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Cr-Zr Alloy[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2020, 847: 155762.
[53] DAI X Q, JIA S G, ZHOU Y J, et al.Microstructural Evolution and Properties of the Cu-Cr-Ti Alloys after Cold Deformation and Subsequent Aging Treatment[J]. Progress in Natural Science: Materials International, 2024, 34(6): 1258-1266.
[54] ZHANG J B, LIU Y, CAI W, et al.Morphology of Precipitates in Cu-Cr-Ti Alloys: Spherical or Cubic[J]. Journal of Electronic Materials, 2016, 45(10): 4726-4729.
[55] FU S L, CHEN X H, LIU P, et al.Effect of Ti on the Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Cr Alloy[J]. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 2023, 27: 3825-3834.
[56] LIU Y L, HU B, JIN C G, et al.Phase Equilibria and Solidification Sequences of the Cu-Cr-Ag-X (X=Y, Zr) Alloys Supported by Key Experiments and CALPHAD Method[J]. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 2024, 32: 967-984.
[57] SUN Y Q, XU G L, FENG X, et al.Effect of Ag on Properties, Microstructure, and Thermostability of Cu-Cr Alloy[J]. Materials, 2020, 13(23): 5386.
[58] WATANABE C, MONZEN R, TAZAKI K.Mechanical Properties of Cu-Cr System Alloys with and without Zr and Ag[J]. Journal of Materials Science, 2008, 43(3): 813-819.
[59] LIU K M, HUANG Z K, ZHANG X W, et al.Influence of Ag Micro-Alloying on the Thermal Stability and Ageing Characteristics of a Cu-14Fe In-Situ Composite[J]. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2016, 673: 1-7.
[60] ZHU X F, XIAO Z, AN J H, et al.Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Ag Alloy Prepared by Continuously Directional Solidification[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2021, 883: 160769.
[61] LIU K M, JIANG Z Y, ZHAO J W, et al.Effect of Directional Solidification Rate on the Microstructure and Properties of Deformation-Processed Cu-7Cr-0.1Ag in Situ Composites[J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2014, 612: 221-226.
[62] XU S, FU H D, WANG Y T, et al.Effect of Ag Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Cu-Cr Alloy[J]. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2018, 726: 208-214.
[63] SHUKLA A K, NARAYANA M S V S, SHARMA S C, et al. The Serrated Flow and Recrystallization in Dispersion Hardened Cu-Cr-Nb Alloy during Hot Deformation[J]. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2016, 673: 135-140.
[64] GUO X L, XIAO Z, QIU W T, et al.Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Cr-Nb Alloy with High Strength, High Electrical Conductivity and Good Softening Resistance Performance at Elevated Temperature[J]. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2019, 749: 281-290.
[65] ANDERSON K R, GROZA J R, DRESHFIELD R L, et al.High-Performance Dispersion-Strengthened Cu-8Cr- 4Nb Alloy[J]. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 1995, 26(9): 2197-2206.
[66] LI L F, HU C, ZHANG L L, et al.More Octahedral Cu+ and Surface Acid Sites in Uniformly Porous Cu-Al₂O₃ for Enhanced Fenton Catalytic Performances[J]. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2021, 406: 124739.
[67] ZHOU S, YANG Y H, LEI Q, et al.Effect of Fabrication Methods on the Microstructure and Properties of a Cu-Cr-Nb Alloy[J]. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2022, 858: 144159.
[68] CHU J R, JIANG X S, LIU T Y.Effect of Ti Contents on Interfacial Bonding, Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Mo-Cu Composites[J]. Tungsten, 2024, 6(3): 549-554.
[69] HUANG T, ZHANG C M, MA Y X, et al.Enhanced Strength of a High-Conductivity Cu-Cr Alloy by Sc Addition[J]. Rare Metals, 2024, 43(11): 6054-6067.
[70] 张俊喜, 郭小汝. Cu-Mg-Si三元系合金中Laves相的研究现状[J]. 兰州工业学院学报, 2014, 21(1): 64-68.
[71] ZHANG J X, GUO X R.The Current Situation of Research on Laves Pase in Cu-Mg-Si System[J]. Journal of Lanzhou Institute of Technology, 2014, 21(1): 64-68.