▎ 摘　　要

Silica-based composites were fabricated by powder metallurgy (PM) route using nanofillers like exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGnPs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by both conventional sintering and spark plasma sintering (SPS) route. SiO2-0.5, 3, 5 vol% xGnP and SiO2-0.5, 3, 5 vol% MWCNT composites have been prepared and a comparative study of the effect of the addition of xGnP and MWCNT on the mechanical properties of the SiO2-based composites has been done. The microstructural characterization of the various SiO2-based composites was done by optical microscopy, SEM and HRTEM. In order to compare the effect of the addition of xGnP and MWCNT to SiO2, various mechanical properties like hardness, fracture toughness and wear behaviour of the composites were determined. The results indicate that the SiO2-xGnP composites possess better mechanical properties as compared to the SiO2-MWCNT composites.