Effect of sintering temperature and nanotube concentration on microstructure and properties of carbon nanotube/alumina nanocomposites

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/alumina (Al2O3) nanocomposites were prepared by simple wet mixing of MWCNT and Al2O3 powder followed by pressureless sintering in static Argon. X-ray diffraction (XRD) line broadening analyses using Williamson–Hall (W–H) technique revealed a polynomial dependence...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ceramics international 2014-06, Vol.40 (5), p.7449-7458
Main Authors: Sarkar, Soumya, Das, Probal Kr
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
B. Electron microscopy
B. Nanocomposites
B. X-ray methods
C. Properties
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Summary:Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/alumina (Al2O3) nanocomposites were prepared by simple wet mixing of MWCNT and Al2O3 powder followed by pressureless sintering in static Argon. X-ray diffraction (XRD) line broadening analyses using Williamson–Hall (W–H) technique revealed a polynomial dependence of crystallite size (DV) on sintering temperature (Tsin) and volume percent CNT added (VCNT) as DV≈[0.9(Tsin)−770]+[−1.1(Tsin)+1489](VCNT)+[0.4(Tsin)−547](VCNT)2. While the highest increase (~14%) in Vickers hardness (HV) over pure Al2O3 was offered by 0.15vol% MWCNT/Al2O3 specimen, the highest fracture toughness (KIC~5MPam0.5) and flexural strength (σFS~260MPa) were obtained for nanocomposite containing 0.3vol% MWCNT which were ~26% and ~16% higher, respectively, than those of pure Al2O3. The 0.15vol% MWCNT/Al2O3 specimen also offered maximum increase (~22%) in thermal conductivity over unreinforced Al2O3 (~39W/mK). Electrical percolation in nanocomposites was observed between 0.6 and 1.2vol% CNT loading.
ISSN:0272-8842
1873-3956
DOI:10.1016/j.ceramint.2013.12.092