Pitch coating of SiC and its effects on the thermal stability and oxidation resistance of SiC/epoxy composites

The effects of surface treatment and carbonized pitch (CP) coating on the silicon carbide (SiC) in a SiC epoxy composite were investigated in this study, with a focus on the thermal stability and oxidation resistance of the composites. The thermal stability and oxidation resistance properties of the composites were affected by this CP coating. The SiC pitch coating improved the thermal stability and oxidation resistance of the epoxy composite, and the CP coated-SiC filler improved the thermal stability of the epoxy composites over that of the pure SiC filler. In addition, the surface treatment increased the thermal stability and oxidation resistance due to the interaction at the surface between the SiC and the CP. CP-coated acidic surface treated-SiC (CP/aSiC) composites featured improved oxidation resistance and thermal stability compared to the CP coated-SiC (CP/SiC) composites.