Graphite nanoplatelets toughened zirconium carbide ceramics prepared by spark plasma sintering

Zirconium carbide (ZrC) ceramics is an important candidate material for structural applications both at high temperature and intensive irradiation. However, its sensitivity to defects and cracks often causes low reliability and limited the application of ZrC ceramics. In this work, graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) doped zirconium carbide ceramics were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The results show that the addition of GNPs not only...