Preceramic Inorganic Polymers

To have a useful preceramic polymer, considerations of structure and reactivity are of paramount importance. Not every inorganic or organometallic polymer will be a useful preceramic polymer. Although preceramic polymers are potentially high-value products if the desired properties result from their use, the more generally useful and practical systems will be those based on commercially available and relatively cheap starting monomers. 

Smith and coworkers (6-10) have recently conducted a series of Investigations on the extraction and precipitation of a variety of organic polymers and inorganic materials including ceramic and preceramic powders. Silica powders were precipitated by rapid expansion following their extraction with supercritical water at 580-590 bar and pre-expansion temperatures higher than 723 K. The particle size and agglomeration characteristics of these powders were found to be sensitive to the concentration of silica before the expansion as... 

Pol)mier Resins Polymer Resins Pol)rmer Resins Preceramic Polymers Inorganic Films Fibers and Microparts... 

In the field of composite materials, inorganic-organic hybrid polymers offer great promise as precursors to ceramic matrix materials. In these applications, high purity ceramics are often not necessary and preceramic polymers allow the introduction of inorganic elements such as silicon and boron in quantities which can be directed by polymer structure and stoichiometry. 

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