Towards High Temperature Applications of Carbon Nanotubes CNTs [III]: Thermal Diffusivity of CNTs Reinforced Silica Nanocomposite

Abstract

Consolidated functionalized carbon nanotubes/silica refractory ceramic nanocomposites (FCNTs/silica) were fabricated by pressureless sintering technique. Thermal diffusivity of the nanocomposites with various amounts of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was investigated. The obtained results demonstrate a modest reduction of thermal diffusivity with temperature; which may suggest that the dominant contribution to the thermal diffusivity is due to the thermally enhanced phonon-phonon scattering. 1 wt. % FCNTs/silica nanocomposite gave the highest thermal diffusivity. Thus, it can be inferred that the CNTs are promising reinforcement for improving thermal diffusivity of the silica refractory ceramics.