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Chinese Journal of Materials Research  2026, Vol. 40 Issue (6): 450-456    DOI: 10.11901/1005.3093.2025.300
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Enhancing Effect and Mechanism of Reduced Graphene Oxide on the Corrosion Resistance of Copper-based Composites
JIANG Xingguo1, SHEN Wenzhuo2,3(), YANG Tao2, ZHANG Jiali2,3, ZHONG Min2,3, CAO He4, GUO Shouwu2()
1.School of Automation and Intelligent Sensing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
2.School of Integrated Circuits, School of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
3.State Key Laboratory of Micro-Nano Engineering Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
4.School of Materials and Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Cite this article: 

JIANG Xingguo, SHEN Wenzhuo, YANG Tao, ZHANG Jiali, ZHONG Min, CAO He, GUO Shouwu. Enhancing Effect and Mechanism of Reduced Graphene Oxide on the Corrosion Resistance of Copper-based Composites. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2026, 40(6): 450-456.

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Abstract  

Cu is widely used due to its excellent electrical and thermal conductivity properties. However, its corrosion resistance in chlorine-containing environments (such as seawater or salt fog) is poor, which limits its long-term application in harsh conditions. To address this challenge, herein block composite of Cu/reduced graphene oxide (Cu/rGO) was fabricated via processes as follows: billets of which were prepared by vacuum hot pressing with mixture of Cu powder and rGO as raw material, and then they were successively subjected to hot-forging and -rolling. Further, the corrosion behavior of Cu/rGO composite and pure Cu in 3.5%NaCl aqueous solution and salt fog was comparatively assessed. Results show that the corrosion rate of Cu/rGO composite in NaCl aqueous solution was 34.8% lower than that of pure Cu, this may be mainly attributed to the physical barrier effect of the lamellar rGO, which effectively delayed the penetration of chloride ions and the charge transfer process. The Cu/rGO had a higher charge transfer resistance and higher electrochemical impedance, indicating that the interface reaction was more difficult to occur and the corrosion product film was compact. In the salt spray testing conditions, the corrosion rate of Cu/rGO was only 0.625 × 10-5 g·cm-2·h-1, which was 66.67% lower than that of pure Cu (1.875 × 10-5 g·cm-2·h-1). The number and size of corrosion pits on the surface of Cu/rGO were small and few, and the decrease in yield strength after corrosion (3 MPa) was significantly lower than that of pure Cu (18 MPa). The findings revealed the mechanism of rGO in enhancing the corrosion resistance of copper-based composites from multiple perspectives, including electrochemical behavior, microscopic morphology, and mechanical properties. Which may provide meaningful reference for the application of composite of Cu/rGO in marine engineering and high-humidity, high-salt environments.

Key words:  material failure and protection      copper-based graphene composite      material corrosion resistance      electrochemical corrosion      salt-spray corrosion      mechanical properties under corrosive conditions     
Received:  10 October 2025     
ZTFLH:  TG172  
Corresponding Authors:  SHEN Wenzhuo, E-mail: shenwenzhuo@sjtu.edu.cn;
GUO Shouwu, E-mail: swguo@sjtu.edu.cn

URL: 

https://www.cjmr.org/EN/10.11901/1005.3093.2025.300     OR     https://www.cjmr.org/EN/Y2026/V40/I6/450

Fig.1  SEM images of Cu and Cu/rGO particles, respectively (a, b) and SEM images of fracture region of Cu/rGO bulk being etched in FeCl3/HCl solution for 30 min (c)
Fig.2  Nyquist plots of Cu and Cu/rGO bulk electrochemically etched for different time (a, b), equivalent electrical circuit (c), and SEM images of the surfaces of Cu and Cu/rGO bulk after being etched in 3.5%NaCl aqueous solution for 3 d (d, e)
SampleRs / Ω·cm2Qct / μF·cm-2nctRct / Ω·cm2Qf / μF·cm-2nfRf / Ω·cm2Error / %
Cu 1 h11.0624.460.910.001025830.70.30617.866 × 10102.53
Cu 12 h8.3665.910.78498.3455.10.30681.101 × 10112.04
Cu 24 h13.6492.650.751048558.40.35598.807 × 10101.88
Cu 3 d8.57103.40.775307890.70.62291.054 × 1042.92
Cu 7 d10.58116.40.781056015100.56596.734 × 1095.66
Cu/rGO bulk-1 h7.7927.070.897.5767.40.35348.669 × 10111.62
Cu/rGO bulk-12 h7.5686.340.77566.4450.20.30532.129 × 10111.67
Cu/rGO bulk-24 h8.11102.10.771433477.90.32924.013 × 10111.87
Cu/rGO bulk-3 d9.87111.90.786003821.30.54091.089 × 1042.56
Cu/rGO bulk-7 d9.47188.30.79152223900.27571.210 × 10103.52
Table 1  EIS data of Cu and Cu/rGO bulks in electrochemical environment
Fig.3  Tafel plot of Cu and Cu/rGO bulks, respectively (a, b) and schematic diagram of Cu/rGO bulk etched electrochemically in 3.5%NaCl aqueous solution before and after 3 d (c, d)
SampleIcorr / μA·cm-2Ecorr / mVCR / cm·a-1IE / %
Cu-1 h123.4-2952.90-
Cu-12 h55.89-2691.31-
Cu-24 h32.37-2680.76-
Cu-3 d23.31-2700.55-
Cu-7 d5.962-3070.14-
Cu/rGO bulk-1 h80.43-2911.8934.8
Cu/rGO bulk-12 h38.15-2700.9031.7
Cu/rGO bulk-24 h25.13-2720.5922.4
Cu/rGO bulk-3 d17.92-2730.4423.1
Cu/rGO bulk-7 d4.852-3040.1118.6
Table 2  Corrosion parameters derived from the electrochemical measurements
Fig.4  Tensile stress-strain curves of Cu and Cu/rGO bulks before and after etching under different salt pray conditions (a), comparative bar chart of mechanical properties of Cu and Cu/rGO bulks before and after etching under different salt pray conditions (b) and optical microscope images of Cu and Cu/rGO bulks composite in 3.5%NaCl SP (c, d)
Samplem1 / gm2 / gRsp / g·cm-2·h-1
Cu0.26790.26701.875 × 10-5
Cu/rGO bulk0.31040.31010.625 × 10-5
Table 3  Weight and Rsp of Cu and Cu/rGO bulk before and after salt spray
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