Recent Advances and Future Prospects in Spark Plasma Sintered Alumina Hybrid Nanocomposites

Abstract

Although ceramics have many advantages when compared to metals in specific applications, they could be more widely applied if their low properties (fracture toughness, strength, and electrical and thermal conductivities) are improved. Reinforcing ceramics by two nano-phases that have different morphologies and/or properties, called the hybrid microstructure design, has been implemented to develop hybrid ceramic nanocomposites with tailored nanostructures, improved mechanical properties, and enhanced functionalities. The use of the novel spark plasma sintering (SPS) process allowed for the sintering of hybrid ceramic nanocomposite materials to maintain high relative density while also preserving the small grain size of the matrix. As a result, hybrid nanocomposite materials that have better mechanical and functional properties than those of either conventional composites or nanocomposites were produced. The development of hybrid ceramic nanocomposites is in its early stage and it is expected to continue attracting the interest of the scientific community. In the present paper, the progress made in the development of alumina hybrid nanocomposites, using spark plasma sintering, and their properties are reviewed. In addition, the current challenges and potential applications are highlighted. Finally, future prospects for developing alumina hybrid nanocomposites that have better performance are set.

Porous Al2O3-CNT Nanocomposite Membrane Produced by Spark Plasma Sintering with Tailored Microstructure and Properties for Water Treatment

“…Hence, the utilization of SPS can potentially produce finer grains and smaller pores. Moreover, SPS could facilitate the production of higher-strength materials at lower temperatures compared with hot pressing and conventional sintering [ 45 , 46 ]. The effect of heating rate on the membrane porosity is shown in Figure 5 e,f.…”

“…SPS enables higher heating rate, reduced sintering time, and temperature compared to conventional sintering. Moreover, SPS yields higher strength at lower processing temperatures compared to hot pressing [ 45 ] and conventional sintering [ 46 ]. The membrane’s porosity can be manipulated by controlling the SPS temperature [ 47 ].…”

Microstructure and Electrical Property of Ex-Situ and In-Situ Copper Titanium Carbide Nanocomposites

“…The applied pressure and heating of SPS to densify as-milled powders are described in ref. [23]. The microstructure of the composites was studied by scanning electron microcopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) using a field-emission JEOL JSM-7600F microscope (JEOL Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using a JEOL JEM-2100 microscope (JEOL Ltd., Tokyo, Japan).…”

Spark Plasma Sintering of Nano Silicon Carbide Reinforced Alumina Ceramic Composites

“…Thanks to these features, it has a high potential to be used in a number of sectors such as aerospace and automotive industries, ballistic armor applications, high temperature refractory materials, cutting and abrasive tools and biomaterials. However, fracture toughness value of Al 2 O 3 , which is resistance to crack propagation, is quite low [1][2][3][4][5]. This negative feature limits the use of Al 2 O 3 .…”

“…holding time) and its hardness value measured as maximum 21.7 GPa. Saheb et al[2] produced the Al 2 O 3 -SiC-CNT composites using the SPS method at 50 MPa pressure, 1500 °C sintering temperature and 10 min. holding time.…”