Nacre-inspired Zirconia/Carbon Nanocomposites with High Strength and Toughness

Abstract

Inspired by structures of natural shells, zirconia-carbon nanocomposites were obtained by using natural chitin from shrimp shells as templates via the sol-gel route in this study. Chitin was dispersed in the water and chelated with the zirconia precursors by amidogen. After a heat treatment for carbonization, nacre-like structures of carbon-zirconia nanocomposites were successfully synthesized. Due to the toughening mechanism of tetragonal zirconia, the mechanical properties of carbon-zirconia composites are further improved. The as-received zirconia/carbon nanocomposite with best mechanical property has a hardness of 5.88 GPa and an elastic modulus of 80.6 GPa, which is even stronger than natural shells. This work might facilitate a versatile platform for developing green nanocomposites with reasonably good mechanical properties.

Keywords

zirconia/carbon nanocomposites / sol-gel / chelation / hardness / elastic modulus

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