Synthesis of methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS) derived SiC incorporated carbon-carbon composites

Carbon-carbon composites are an important class of materials used for high temperature applications because of their superior thermo-mechanical properties compared to conventional alloys of steel and aluminum etc. High temperature applications of these can be carried out only in inert atmosphere or in vacuum since that materials are highly susceptible to oxidation in the presence of oxidizing atmosphere and the oxidation can start at temperatures as low as 400 deg C. The oxidation of carbon-carbon materials led to degradation of their mechanical properties. Earlier studies reveals that the 2-5% weight loss due to oxidation, lead to 40-50% decreases in the mechanical properties of carbon-carbon composites. To overcome this obstacle with the carbon-carbon composites, efforts are being made by material scientists to develop oxidation resistant carbon-carbon composites by incorporating oxidation barrier or inhibitor in to the carbon-carbon composites. The present investigation is based on the concept of incorporating the nanoparticle size oxidation resistant material i.e. silicon carbide into carbon-carbon composites through sol-gel process employing methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS) as precursor for silicon carbide.