Thermal Oxidation Mechanism of Polycarbosilane

Abstract

Polycarbosilane (PC) has been used as precursor for silicon carbide fiber. Industrially, the fiber is produced by heat-treatment of the melt-spun and cured PC fiber. PC fiber is cured by oxidation, so the SiC fiber properties are influenced enormously by oxygen introduced, especially at high temperature. Clarification of the oxidation mechanism of PC makes possible to controll the high temperature properties of the SiC fiber.