Materials, Volume 14, Issue 15 (August-1 2021) – Cover Story

Structure and Thermodynamics of Silicon Oxycarbide Polymer-Derived Ceramics with and without Mixed-Bonding

04.08.2021

Herein, we present a simple and effective method for access to polymer-derived silicon oxycarbide ceramics with or without mixed bonding in their structure. The precursors developed by an aqueous sol–gel method both contain one phenyl substituent per silicon atom as an exclusive source for carbon. The difference between these two polymers is linked to the existence of direct Si–C bonding in the first precursor and the absence of any Si–C bonds in the second precursor, where only Si–O–C bonding types are present. The small, yet significant modification of the molecular structure gives rise to ceramics with different nanodomain structures and properties.