Mechanical and thermal properties of Graphene nanoplates (GNPs)/Lithium aluminosilicate (LAS) composites: An analysis based on mathematical model and experiments

Abstract

The Graphene nanoplates (GNPs)/Lithium aluminosilicate (LAS) glass-ceramic composites were produced by hot-pressing sintering in vacuum condition. The flexural strength, fracture toughness, and thermal conductivity of the composites with different GNPs contents were investigated. The flexural strength and thermal conductivity reached maximum (137.17 ± 6.50 MPa and 1.98 W·m−1·K−1) when the content of GNPs increased to 2 wt%. When the GNPs content reached 3 wt%, fracture toughness reached maximum (5.45 ± 0.20 MPa·m1/2), which has obvious improvement compared with pure LAS glass-ceramic (1–2 MPa·m1/2). The mathematical models were induced to further investigate the effects of the agglomeration and content of GNPs on mechanical and thermal properties of the composite. The results show that the agglomeration of GNPs weakens the mechanical properties of the composites by reducing the energy dissipation of GNPs pull-out. The interfacial thermal resistance between the GNPs and LAS decreases initially followed by increasing, which will affect the thermal conductivity of the composites. This new material system will further expand the field of LAS ceramics in the future.