Study on microstructure and arc ablation performance of WCu composites prepared by Ni-decorated W powders

The development of high-performance tungsten‑copper (WCu) contact materials is hindered by severe mass loss under coupled thermal-electrical-mechanical stresses, particularly due to inhomogeneous microstructures and weak sintering necks in conventional composites. Here, we propose a scalable strategy utilizing Ni-decorated W powders to engineer rapid diffusion pathways during infiltration, addressing these limitations synergistically. The 250 nm Ni particle activates tungsten particles through interfacial diffusion, enabling robust sintering neck formation while maintaining structural integrity of the W skeleton. This microstructure engineering produced Nickel-activated WCu composites, which reduced the mass loss by 51.8 % compared with the unmodified materials. This work not only deciphers the role of decorated interfaces in microstructural homogenization but also establishes a paradigm for designing durable electrical contact materials via nano-scale surface activation.