Effect of carbon nanotubes additives on mechanical properties of WC–6Co cemented carbide

In order to increase the toughness of WC–6Co cemented carbide, different contents of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were added to the WC–6Co alloy powder to prepare cemented carbide by low-pressure sintering. The results showed that some of the CNTs were embedded between the grains of WC–6Co cemented carbide, which would hinder the growth of WC grain boundary, thus leading to grain refinement. In addition, CNTs inhibited the formation of decarbonized phase and guided the deflection and bridge of crack to hinder the crack extension. With the increase of CNTs content, the density increased at first and then decreased, and the transverse fracture strength increased at first and then decreased. When the content was 0.2 wt.%, the alloy had the best performance. The density of the alloy was 99.67%; the transverse fracture strength was up to 2937.5 MPa, which is about 100% higher than that of cemented carbide without CNTs. The fracture toughness was 9.84 MPa m^1/2, and the hardness was 1924.8HV₃₀.