Abstract
A preceramic polymer for ZrC was successfully synthesised by chemical reaction between zirconium oxychloride (ZrOCl2·8H2O) and 2-Hydroxybenzyl alcohol via a one-pot route. The molecular structure, thermal properties and pyrolysis behaviour of the precursor were investigated. The results indicated that the precursor might be Zr–O–Zr chain polymer with 2-Hydroxybenzyl alcohol as ligand. The precursor was air-stable and exhibited excellent solubility in common organic solvents. The conversions from precursor to ZrC powders were investigated by TG-DTA, X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscope, TEM and Raman spectrum. The precursor underwent a thermal decomposition in four steps, and ZrC powders were formed at 1300°C via carbothermal reduction reaction of ZrO2 and carbon in argon with ceramic yield of 63.0%. The ZrC particles were fine and exhibited irregular polyhedron morphology with average size in the range of 100–300 nm.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51402354) and “the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities” (2015QNA07).