07.02.2013 Views

Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Composites: Metal and Ceramic ...

Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Composites: Metal and Ceramic ...

Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Composites: Metal and Ceramic ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

140j 5 <strong>Carbon</strong> <strong>Nanotube</strong>–<strong>Ceramic</strong> Nanocomposites<br />

Figure 5.5 Photographs of Fe-Al 2O 3/CNT composite (a) at the<br />

beginning of the extrusion process <strong>and</strong> (b) after the extrusion<br />

is completed. Reproduced with permission from [39]. Copyright<br />

Ó (2002) Elsevier.<br />

is 90%, which is slightly higher that that of hot-pressed composite. Figure 5.5 shows<br />

a photograph of Fe-Al2O3/CNT composite extruded at 1500 C. <strong>Carbon</strong> nanotubes<br />

inhibit the grain growth of ceramic matrix <strong>and</strong> promote superplastic forming of<br />

the composite during extrusion. Moreover, CNTs tend to align preferentially along<br />

the extrusion direction (Figure 5.6(a) <strong>and</strong> (b)).<br />

In additiontotheinsitu formationof ceramic-CNTpowder mixtures,otherpotential<br />

techniques for homogeneous dispersion of CNTs in alumina matrix have been<br />

sought. The fabrication methods should allow easier dispersion of nanofillers into<br />

ceramic powders. These include aqueous colloidal processing <strong>and</strong> molecular level<br />

mixing. Aqueous colloidal processing consists of several step procedures: (i) suspension<br />

preparation, (ii) removal of the solvent phase, (iii) consolidation into desired<br />

Figure 5.6 SEM images showing the fracture surfaces of extruded<br />

(a) Fe-Al2O3/CNT <strong>and</strong> (b) FeCo-MgAl2O4/CNT nanocomposites.<br />

Note the alignment of CNTs. Reproduced with permission<br />

from [39]. Copyright Ó (2002) Elsevier.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!