In-situ formed graphene nanoribbon induced toughening and thermal shock resistance of spark plasma sintered carbon nanotube reinforced titanium carbide composite

摘要

CNTs (2 wt%) reinforced TiC composite with WC (3.5 wt%) as sintering aid was densified using SPS technique at 1600 degrees C. In-situ formation of wide GNRs (Graphene nanoribbon) was observed due to CNT unzipping in TiC-WC-CNT (TWC) pellet. A phenomenal increase in fracture toughness (similar to 118%) was observed in TWC pellet compared to TiC. This significant improvement was due to novel toughening mechanisms like GNR grain wrapping, GNR crack bridging and crack bifurcation. Further, TWC pellet showed similar to 48% improved thermal shock resistance compared to TiC, which could be due to the suppressed large thermal cracks by CNT and in-situ formed GNR. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.