In situ triboreduction of organo-copper compound in titanium alloys tapping

In this paper, an organo-copper phosphate compound was synthesized and appl ied as a water-based lubricating additive in a tapping test of Ti-6Al-4V al loys. The results show that the Cu-containmig compound plays an effective r ole in the metalworking. The machined surfaces were examined by scanning el ectronic microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respe ctively. After Ar+ etching, abundant metallic Cu was detected in the subsur face. This indicated that Cu(II) was reduced to Cu(0) via in situ triboredu ction in the frictional process. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.