Mechanical and electrical properties of hot-pressed borosilicate glass matrix composites containing multi-wall carbon nanotubes

Borosilicate glass matrix composites reinforced with 10 wt% multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were fabricated using a conventional powder processing route and uniaxial hot pressing. The microstructure of the composites contained aggregates of CNTs which had not been infiltrated by the viscous glass during hot-pressing leaving a ∼9% residual porosity. As a result, the mechanical properties (hardness, elastic modulus, fracture toughness and fracture strength) were not improved in comparison to those of the monolithic glass matrix. However the brittleness index (B), which is the ratio of hardness to fracture toughness, decreased with addition of CNTs, which indicates that the composites should exhibit improved contact damage and wear resistance. Electrical resistivity measurements revealed that the addition of 10 wt% CNTs to the normally insulating borosilicate glass decreased its resistivity to 13 Ω cm in comparison to the high value (10¹⁵ Ω cm) of the monolithic glass.