MECHANICAL AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF HIGHLY ORGANIZED NANOWIRE-ALUMINA NANOCOMPOSITES

摘要

The use of porous anodic alumina allows for the fabrication of highly ordered unidirectional nanowire composites. Sol gel deposition was used in the successful fabrication of zirconia-alumina and zinc oxide-alumina nanocomposites. Silicon-alumina and germanium-alumina nanocomposites were fabricated via catalyst-assisted chemical vapor deposition. The mechanical and thermal properties of these alumina nanocomposites were investigated. The Vickers hardness of the different nanocomposites was established by means of microindentation. Vickers testing was performed at room temperature and after specified heat treatments. The high temperature treatments were performed in order to assess the effect of an annealing step on the properties of the nanocomposites. Thermal cycling experiments were performed to test the nanocomposites' compatibility with recurring high temperature environments.