In-situ processing of carbon coatings on the surface of SiC-based fibers

Carbon coatings have been formed on the surface of free carbon containing Tyranno ZMI and Nicalon SiC-based fibers by reaction with chlorine gas (chlorination) in the temperature range 550–675 °C. The kinetics and growth mechanisms have been investigated for both fibers. Results have shown that, for similar experimental conditions, the reactivity of both fibers displayed noticeable discrepancies. It has thus been observed that the Nicalon fiber was more prone to chlorine-based treatment and displayed a thicker carbon coating than the ZMI fiber. These results have also revealed that, in both cases, these thicknesses can be closely monitored by physical parameters such as temperature and aging duration. The nature of the obtained coating has also been investigated by various experimental devices. AES, SEM and TEM analyses have thus evidenced that these carbon coatings were uniform and well adherent whereas AFM showed that the chlorine-based treatments resulted in a nanometer-range roughness at the fiber surface. Adsorption gas analyses also revealed a microporosity coupled with a high specific surface area. The chemical composition of the final products was determined by XPS and Mass Spectroscopy. Finally, the oxidation behavior which was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis revealed that oxidation occurs at a quite low temperature (225 °C).