Nanoprocesses in polymer-derived Si-O-C ceramics: Electronmicroscopic observations and reaction kinetics

Nickel acetate doped poly(methylphenylsilsesquioxane) with and without silicon filler loading was pyrolysed in argon atmosphere between 800 and 1500 degrees C. The ceramic residues were investigated with specific view of the nanoaggregates formed in pores during the polymer-to-ceramic conversion. After pyrolysis at 900 degrees C carbon nanotubes as well as nanowires with a crystalline SiC core and an amorphous SiO2 shell were found in Si filler-free and Si filler-loaded samples, respectively. The evolution of the microstructure and the cornposition of these carbon nanotubes and SiC/SiO2 nanowires were studied by HREM, SEM, EELS, EFTEM and evolved gas analysis. (c) 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.