To protect carbon/carbon (C/C) composites from oxidation, a SiC coating modified with SiO2 was prepared by a complex technology. The inner SiC coating with thickness varying from 150 to 300 μm was initially coated by chemical vapor reaction (CVR): a simple and cheap technique to prepare the SiC coating via siliconizing the substrate that was exposed to the mixed vapor (Si and SiO2) at high temperatures (1 923?2 273 K). Then the as-prepared coating was processed by a dipping and drying procedure with tetraethoxysilane as source materials to form SiO2 to fill the cracks and holes. Oxidation tests show that, after oxidation in air at 1 623 K for 10 h and thermal cycling between 1 623 K and room temperature 5 times, the mass loss of the CVR coated sample is up to 18.21%, while the sample coated with modified coating is only 5.96%, exhibiting an obvious improvement of oxidation and thermal shock resistance of the coating. The mass loss of the modified sample is mainly contributed to the reaction of C/C substrate with oxygen diffusing through the penetrating cracks formed in thermal shock tests.
Activated carbon fiber/carbon nanotube(ACF/CNT) composites were fabricated by chemical vapor deposition(CVD) process.The effects of pyrolysis temperature on properties of ACF/CNT composites,including BET specific surface area,mass increment rate and adsorption efficiency for rhodamine B in solution,were investigated by scanning electron microscopy.The results show that the pyrolysis temperature is a key factor affecting the qualities of ACF/CNT composites.The mass increment rate and BET specific surface area sharply decrease with the increase of pyrolysis temperatures from 550 ℃ to 850 ℃ and the minimum diameter of CNTs appears at 750 ℃.The maximum adsorption efficiency of ACF/CNT composites for rhodamine B is obtained at 650 ℃.ACF/CNT composites are expected to be useful in adsorption field.
To protect carbon materials from oxidation,SiC coatings were prepared on carbon/carbon(C/C)composites and graphite by chemical vapor reaction.SEM and XRD analyses show that the coatings obtained are composed of SiC grains and micro-crystals. The influence of different carbon substrates on oxidation behavior of coated samples was investigated,and then their oxidation mechanisms were studied.Oxidation test shows that the SiC coated graphite has a better oxidation resistance than SiC coated C/C composites at high temperatures(1 623 K and 1 823 K).In the oxidation process,the oxidation curves of SiC coated C/C composites are linear,while those of SiC coated graphite follow a quasi-parabolic manner.The oxidation mechanism of the former is controlled by chemical reaction while the latter is controlled by oxygen diffusion based on the experimental results.The variation of oxidation behavior and mechanism of SiC coatings on two kinds of carbon substrates are primarily contributed to their structure differences.