Continuous Si–C–O–Al fiber derived from aluminum-containing polycarbosilane precursor

By modifying polymer precursor polycarbosilane (PCS) with a metallic alkoxide, SiC fibers containing heteroatoms (such as Ti, Zr and Al) could be prepared. Continuous Si–C–O–Al fibers were fabricated by the melt-spinning of aluminum-containing polycarbosilane (Al-PCS) precursor, air-curing and pyrolizing at 1350 °C. These fibers contained small amount of aluminum and 7 wt.% oxygen. The fibers were characterized by chemical analysis, tensile strength test, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The tensile strength, Young’s modulus and diameter of the Si–C–O–Al fibers are 2.6 GPa, 210 GPa, 12∼14 μm, respectively.