Sol-gel synthesis and structure of borosilicon oxycarbide glasses

Existing sol-gel polymerization/pyrolysis routes employing two separate bor on containing metal alkoxide precursors have been applied to form multi-com ponent silicon oxycarbide glasses based on a borosilicon oxycarbide (B-Si-O -C) system. Si-29 and B-11 magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) was used to characterize the atomic structure of the gels, glasse s and glass ceramics. Structural changes such as glass formation and crysta l nucleation were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Transmission elect ron microscopy (TEM) provided images of crystal nucleation and growth.