Hybrid nanocomposites: A new route towards tougher alumina ceramics

The sintering and grain growth behaviour of ceramic–carbon nanotube nanocomposites

“…Adding CNTs to polymer matrices can significantly increase their mechanical strength [9][10][11], elastic modulus [10,12], impact toughness [12], electrical [9,[13][14][15] and thermal conductivities [15]. Improved mechanical [16][17][18][19], electrical [19][20][21] and thermal properties [22,23] have also been reported for ceramic/CNT nanocomposites produced by rapid processing using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). However, the role of CNTs in the sintering of ceramics is not all that clear in the literature, possibly because of differences in the materials used, and particularly because of inconsistencies in dispersion and mixing of the CNTs.…”

The production of advanced fine-grained alumina by carbon nanotube addition

“…This nullifies the effect of fine alumina grains produced by the presence of CNTs at the grain boundaries of the composite. Some papers have reported no effect [28] or improved hardness [5,[29][30][31] by the incorporation of CNTs. However, the improvements were marginal and no comments were presented on the interfacial interactions between hard ceramic particles and the lubricating CNTs.…”

Multifunctional Properties of Alumina Composites Reinforced by a Hybrid Filler

“…In brief, the nanosize SiC particles relieve the residual stresses in the matrix and along the grain boundaries by generating dislocations around the particles. 30 An optimum value of 5 vol% has been used for CNTs in this study. In addition, the hybrid design also provides two different mechanisms to improve the fracture toughness.…”