Oxidation resistant ceramic foam from a silicone preceramic polymer/polyurethane blend

Silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) ceramic foams, produced by the pyrolysis of a foa med blend of a methylsilicone preceramic polymer and polyurethane (PU) in a 1/1 wt.% ratio, exhibit excellent physical and mechanical properties. The proposed process allows to easily modify the density and morphology of the foams, making them suitable for several engineering applications. However, it has been shown that, due to residual carbon present in the oxycarbide ph ase after pyrolysis, the foams are subjected to an oxidation process that r educes their strength after high temperature exposure to air (12 h 1200 deg reesC). A modified process, employing the same silicone resin preceramic po lymer but a much lower PU content (silicone resin/PU = 5.25/1 wt.% ratio), has been developed and is reported in this paper. Microstructural investiga tions showed that carbon rich regions deriving from the decomposition of th e polyurethane template are still present in the SiOC foam, hut have a much smaller dimension than those found in foams with a higher PU content. Ther mal gravimetric studies performed in air or oxygen showed that the low-PU c ontaining ceramic foams display an excellent oxidation resistance, because the carbon-rich areas are embedded inside the struts or cell walls and are thus protected by the dense silicon oxycarbide matrix surrounding them. SiO C foams obtained with the novel process are capable to maintain their mecha nical strength after oxidation treatments at 800 and 1200 degreesC (12 h), while SiOC foams obtained with a higher amount of PU show about a 30% stren gth decrease after oxidation at 1200 degreesC (12 h). (C) 2001 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.