Controlled formation of carbon nanotubes incorporated ceramic composite granules by electrostatic integrated nano-assembly.

Controlled incorporation of carbon nanotubes (CNT) with alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) and zirconia (ZrO 2 ) nanoparticles using an electrostatic nano-assembly method for the fabrication of homogeneous CNT-incorporated Al 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 and CNT-incorporated shell-layer Al 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 composite granules is demonstrated. The spark-plasma-sintered CNT-incorporated shell-layer Al 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 artifact exhibited approximately 15 times higher electrical conductivity than a homogeneous CNT-incorporating artifact. This novel composite granule fabrication method using an electrostatic integrated assembly of colloidal nanomaterials would be beneficial for the development of multiscale and multicomponent composite materials.