Patent ID: 6875374

Claim:
In an application requiring the conduction of an electric current as the result of a voltage applied between two terminals, the improvement comprising interposing between said terminals a composite material comprised of metal oxide and single-wall carbon nanotubes, said composite material having a density of at least 95% relative to a volume-averaged theoretical density, said composite material being the product of a process comprising consolidating a mixture of ceramic particles of less than 500 nm in diameter and single-wall carbon nanotubes into a continuous mass by compressing said mixture at a pressure of from about 10 MPa to about 200 MPa and a temperature of from about 800° C. to about 1,500° C. while passing a sintering pulsed direct electric current of from about 250 A/cm 2 to about 10,000 A/cm 2 through said mixture.