Effect of Single Wall - CNTs on the Fabrication and Properties of Spark Plasma Sintered 8mol% YSZ Nano-Composite

Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) is a promising ceramic for engineering applications where long-term high temperature environment is maintained. In particular, YSZ is used for thermal barrier coatings on turbine blades and aero engine components. Further, due to YSZ’s desirable corrosion resistance, thermal shock resistance and hardness, it is being considered for more demanding applications.

In this work, single wall carbon nanotubes (SW-CNTs) were added to 8 mol% Yttria Stabilized Zirconia and processed via Spark Plasma Sintering process with a view of further enhancement of mechanical properties of YSZ. SW-CNT loadings of 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 wt% were prepared and bulk nano-composites were fabricated. The densification behaviour, hardness, microstructure and thermal properties of the ceramic were studied, and the results suggest that the addition of up to 1 wt% SW-CNTs to YSZ yielded optimal results. The addition of SW-CNTs significantly improved the densification and hardness of YSZ nano-composites, while decreasing the thermal conductivity.