Chemically bonded phosphate ceramics composites reinforced with graphite nanoplatelets

Abstract

Chemically bonded phosphate ceramic (CBPCs) composites with 1.0wt.% graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) reinforcement have been manufactured. The GNPs were functionalized by different procedures, a nitric acid oxidation and a dried oxidation in open air.Two different mixing techniques were used, Thinky and Resonant Acoustic Mixing (RAM). Results showed both techniques are effective to remove most of the air bubbles and a homogeneous distribution of phases was observed with different microscopy techniques.The microstructure was identified by using optical and scanning electron microscopes, X-ray microtomography, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The bending strength was increased from less than 10MPa (literature) to more than 23MPa. The thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) technique was used to analyze the thermal stability at high temperature.The main goal in this paper is to enhance the bending strength of the CBPCs reinforced with GNPs, as a substitute composite material for ceramics and cements in structural applications.