Strong, lightweight, thermally stable, and hydrophobic sustainable structural composites produced from coal-based waste and polymer-derived SiOC ceramics

Abstract

Recycling coal-based waste (CBW) into composites suitable as a building material might be a necessary response to combat its risk to the environment. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the microstructure and performance of coal composites produced from CBW and polysiloxane polymer (SPR-212). Four types of CBW that differ in physicochemical properties were examined. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results indicated that the higher the intensity of the C=C bonds in the CBW, the higher the pyrolysis mass loss and shrinkage experienced by the composites during pyrolysis. The continuous operating temperature of the composites is up to 600 °C. However, at temperatures above 600 °C, composites containing carbon content greater than 36% manifested dramatic degradation. Pyrolysis mass loss in the range of 5.28 to 29.62% was obtained for all the composites. The density range of the composites is between 1.5 and 1.9 g per cubic centimetre. The water absorption of all the composites is within the range of 0 to 25% and is comparable to many building materials. Notably, the composites containing total carbon less than 10% registered a water contact angle greater than 90°, indicating the low wettability of their surface. Furthermore, composites that embodied the highest total carbon (63%) displayed the worst structural property. The findings of this study lay the foundation for further development of high-quality structural coal composites from CBW and the SPR-212 preceramic polymer through optimisation of the processing conditions.Graphical abstractAssessment of structural composites produced from coal-based waste and polymer-derived SiOC ceramics