Effects Of Rare Earth Elements On Microstructure And Conductivity Of Pure Copper

Four rare-earth elements, La, Ce, Nd and Y are added into pure cop- per, and the effects on the electrical conditivity, hardness, microstrucrure are investigated by experiments. The results show that four rare-earth el- ement La, Ce, Nd and Y in the pure copper are able to make grain refined, so the electric conductivity and the mechanical properities of pure copper is improved. The optimal dosage of La, Ce, Nd and Y are 0.05wt%, 0.06 wt%,0.06wt% and 0.02wr%. Moreover,Y shows the greatest improvement in the electric conductivity among four rare-earth elements. Rare-earth e- lements are able to make grain refined of pure copper (Nd is an exceptio- n),the refinement of Y is the most obvious .