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Engineered Nanostructures for Multifunctional Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Silicon Nitride Nanocomposites
Author(s) -
Corral Erica L.,
Cesarano Joseph,
Shyam Amit,
LaraCurzio Edgar,
Bell Nelson,
Stuecker John,
Perry Nicola,
Di Prima Matthew,
Munir Zuhair,
Garay Javier,
Barrera Enrique V.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2008.02533.x
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocomposite , carbon nanotube , ceramic , composite number , microstructure , composite material , raman spectroscopy , toughness , sintering , silicon nitride , fracture toughness , layer (electronics) , physics , optics
Colloidal processing was used to make highly dispersed aqueous composite suspensions containing single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and Si 3 N 4 particles. The SWNTs and Si 3 N 4 particles were stabilized into composite suspensions using a cationic surfactant at low pH values. Bulk nanocomposites containing 1.0, 2.0, and 6.0 vol% SWNTs were successfully fabricated using rapid prototyping. The survival of SWNTs was detected, using Raman spectroscopy, after high‐temperature sintering, up to 1800°C. The nanocomposites have densities up to 97% of the composite theoretical density. The engineered nanostructures reveal an increase in grindability and damage tolerance behavior over the monolithic ceramic. We also observed toughening mechanisms such as SWNT crack bridging and pull‐out, indicating that SWNTs have the potential to serve as toughening agents in ceramics. Increased fracture toughness values over the monolithic Si 3 N 4 were observed for the 2.0‐vol% SWNT–Si 3 N 4 nanocomposite when a given sintered microstructure was present. We report here the effects of colloidal processing on mechanical behavior of SWNT reinforced nonoxide ceramic nanocomposites.