Single-source-precursor Synthesis and High-temperature Behavior of SiC Ceramics Containing Boron

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, a hyperbranched polyborocarbosilane (HPBCS) was prepared by a one-pot synthesis with Cl2Si(CH3)CH2Cl, Cl3SiCH2Cl and BCl3 as the starting materials. The obtained HPBCS was characterized by GPC, FT-IR and NMR, and was confirmed to have hyperbranched structures. The thermal property of the resulting HPBCS was investigated by TGA. The ceramic yield of the HPBCS is about 84% and that of the counterpart hyperbranched hydridopolycarbosilane is only 45%, indicating that the introduction of boron into the preceramic polymer significantly improved the ceramic yield. With the polymer-derived ceramic route, the final ceramics were annealed at 1800 °C in argon atmosphere for 2 h in order to characterize the microstructure and to evaluate the high-temperature behavior. The final ceramic microstructure was studied by XRD and SEM, indicating that the introduction of boron dramatically inhibits SiC crystallization. The boron-containing SiC ceramic shows excellent high-temperature behavior against decomposition and crystallization at 1800 °C.