Novel Solid Silicon Oxycarbide Unmodified Carbon Nanotube Composite Coating: Structure, Topography and Mechanical Properties

Wiktor Niemiec,Anna Ferenc,Elżbieta Długoń,Maria Owińska,Michał Szuwarzyński

doi:10.3390/coatings11080920

Wiktor Niemiec, Anna Ferenc + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11080920

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Journal: Coatings	Publication Date: Jul 31, 2021
Citations: 1	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: AGH University of Krakow

Abstract

A silicon oxycarbide-carbon nanotube coating on steel was synthesized using a novel approach utilizing unmodified carbon nanotubes (CNT), silane surfactant and large monomer-based silsesquioxane sol. This enabled the creation of very stable carbon nanotube dispersion, which in turn resulted in homogenous layers obtained in a simple dip-coating process. The samples were annealed in 800 °C in argon to obtain a uniform glassy silicon oxycarbide-based composite from a silsesquioxane precursor. The layers’ morphology and nanomechanical properties were investigated using a number of methods, including infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nanoindentation, Accelerated Property Mapping (XPM) and Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping—an Atomic Force Microscopy method (QNM-AFM).

Highlights

Silicon oxycarbide is a very promising material, as it combines good mechanical properties [1,2] with thermal and chemical resistance [3,4]
This can be mitigated by the use of modified carbon nanotubes (CNT), which widens the range of deposition methods to include, e.g., electrophoretic deposition [18]
The peak, visible in the case of CNT composite coating spectra, below that value can be correlated with C–H stretching vibrations of hydrogen atoms bonded to carbon atoms with sp2 hybridization, which can be present on the surface of damaged CNTs

Summary

Introduction

Silicon oxycarbide is a very promising material, as it combines good mechanical properties [1,2] with thermal and chemical resistance [3,4]. In most cases of silicon oxycarbide-based materials, carbon can be found in the form of a free carbon phase dispersed in the ceramic bulk. This makes silicon oxycarbide well suited for being the bulk of the composites with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), as its composite structure enables easier integration of CNTs in the final material.

Results

Conclusion