Abstract:Methods used to strengthen metals generally cause a pronounced decrease in electrical conductivity, so that a tradeoff must be made between conductivity and mechanical strength. We synthesized pure copper samples with a high density of nanoscale growth twins. They showed a tensile strength of 1068 MPa, which is about 10 times higher than that of conventional coarse-grained copper, while retaining an electrical conductivity comparable to that of pure copper(97%IACS). The effect of twin lamella thickness on the samples properties was studied systematically.