University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Doctoral Dissertations University of Connecticut Graduate School 8-26-2014 Development of New Matrix and Interfacial Materials for Ceramic Matrix Composites Gavin C. Richards University of Connecticut - Storrs,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Richards, Gavin C., "Development of New Matrix and Interfacial Materials for Ceramic Matrix Composites" (2014). Doctoral Dissertations. 522. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/522 Development of New Matrix and Interfacial Materials for Ceramic Matrix Composites Gavin C. Richards, PhD University of Connecticut, 2014 Pre-ceramic polymers are attractive, low cost materials for the manufacture of ceramic fibers and matrix materials in Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs). A new pre-ceramic polymer, an ethanol-modified polyvinylsilazane (PVSZ), was synthesized and characterized. The PVSZ polymer has been previously shown to be a viable precursor for silicon nitride and silicon carbide based ceramics, but lacked stability when exposed to air. The PVSZ polymer was synthesized via the ammonolysis of trichlorovinylsilazane in tetrahydrofuran (THF), and then reacted with ethanol to form the ethanol-modified PVSZ. The PVSZ polymer and ethanol- modified PVSZ resin were each characterized with Attenuated Total Reflectance spectroscopy (ATR), 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ( 1H-NMR), and Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Residual Gas Analysis (RGA), and X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) of the ceramic char after pyrolysis in various atmospheres. A second new modified PVSZ was also synthesized. Rather than use ethanol, a second silane monomer was added during synthesis, with the intent of stabilizing the polymer without incorporating oxygen. The new end cap modified PVSZ (EC-PVSZ) was characterized using the same methods outlined for the ethanol-modified PVSZ.