Al2O3–W nanocomposites obtained by colloidal processing and in situ synthesis of nano-metal particles

Abstract The preparation process and the properties of Al2O3-W nanocomposites obtained by gelcasting are reported. The novelty of the synthesis path is the formation of nano-tungsten particles in an in situ reduction of water-soluble precursor during pressureless sintering. The use of water-soluble salt as a tungsten precursor ensured highly homogenous distribution of reinforcing particles and good adhesion between ceramic and metal phases. The maximum content of tungsten in the composites was approximately 0.5 wt%. The size of the reinforcing particles was less than 100 nm. Presence of metallic tungsten and tungsten carbide (W2C) in the composites lead to the improvement of mechanical parameters: an increase of hardness by about 10 % and of fracture toughness by about 20 %, compared to the reference sample of pure aluminum oxide.