The SiC/TiO2 ceramic microspheres were fabricated using polycarbosilane (PCS) and tetrabutyl titanate as precursors by precipitation technology and polymer derived ceramics route. The effect of operating conditions on the size and surface morphology of the PCS/TiO2 microspheres was studied by SEM. The polymer to ceramic conversion and the crystallisation behaviour were studied by thermogravimetry, Fourier transform infrared and X-ray diffraction, suggesting the PCS/TiO2 microspheres converted to the SiC/TiO2 ceramic microspheres through pyrolysis process at different temperatures. At 1200°C, the ceramic microspheres were composed of rutile TiO2 and the β-SiC crystalline phases and kept dense spherical shape with crystalline grains at the surface. The ceramic microspheres had an average diameter of 4 μm, making them promising in infrared shielding application.
YuY, ChenY, XuC, FangJ and AnL: ‘Synthesis of spherical non-oxide silicon carbonitride ceramic particles’, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 2011, 94, 2779–2782.
2.
ZarudiI and ZhangL: ‘Subsurface damage in single-crystal silicon due to grinding and polishing’, J. Mater. Sci. Lett., 1996, 15, 586–587.
3.
BalchDK and DunandDC: ‘Load partitioning in aluminum syntactic foams containing ceramic microspheres’, Acta Mater., 2006, 54, 1501–1511.
4.
LouH, WangJ, ZhaoZ, CaiX and HouY: ‘Flight combustion of the agglomerate powders containing energy (APCE) in making new hollow multiphase ceramic microspheres by self-reactive quenching technology’, Powder Technol., 2013, 249, 15–23.
5.
ChoiES, BrooksJS, EatonDL, Al-HaikMS, HussainiMY, GarmestaniH and DahmenK: ‘Enhancement of thermal and electrical properties of carbon nanotube polymer composites by magnetic field processing’, J. Appl. Phys., 2003, 94, 6034–6039.
6.
YaoR, FengZ, ChenL and ZhangY: ‘Effects of oxidation curing and Al atoms on the formation of near-stoichiometric freestanding SiC (Al) films derived from polyaluminocarbosilane (PACS)’, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 2013, 33, 1675–1683.
7.
WangHL, ZhouXG, YuJS, LiuR, Fabrication of SiCf/SiC composites by chemical vapor infiltration and vapor silicon infiltration, Mater. Lett.2010, 64, 1691–1963.
8.
KellyMJ, WolfeDE, SinghJ, EldridgeJ, ZhuDM and MillerR: ‘Thermal barrier coatings design with increased reflectivity and lower thermal conductivity for high-temperature turbine applications’, Int. J. Appl. Ceram. Technol., 2006, 3, 81–93.
9.
TongL, LouJ, GattassRR, HeS, ChenX, LiuL and MazurE: ‘Assembly of silica nanowires on silica aerogels for microphotonic devices’, Nano. Lett., 2005, 5, 259–262.
10.
ModestiM, LorenzettiA and BescoS: ‘Influence of nanofillers on thermal insulating properties of polyurethane nanocomposites foams’, Polym. Eng. Sci., 2007, 47, 1351–1358.
11.
YangS and RuckensteinE: ‘Processable conductive composites of polyaniline/poly (alkyl methacrylate) prepared via an emulsion method’, Synth. Met., 1993, 59, 1–12.
12.
CheG, LakshmiBB, MartinCR, FisherER and RuoffRS: ‘Chemical vapor deposition based synthesis of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers using a template method’, Chem. Mater., 1998, 10, 260–267.
ChenGG, LuoGS, XuJH and WangJD: ‘Membrane dispersion precipitation method to prepare nanopartials’, Powder Technol., 2004, 139, 180–185.
15.
BoniniM, BardiU, BertiD, NetoC and BaglioniP: ‘A new way to prepare nanostructured materials: flame spraying of microemulsions’, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2002, 106B, 6178–6183.
16.
BaoH, GongY, LiZ and GaoM: ‘Enhancement effect of illumination on the photoluminescence of water-soluble CdTe nanocrystals: toward highly fluorescent CdTe/CdS core–shell structure’, Chem. Mater., 2004, 16, 3853–3859.
17.
ColomboP, MeraG, RiedelR and SoraruGD: ‘Polymer-derived ceramics: 40 years of research and innovation in advanced ceramics’, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 2010, 93, 1805–1837.
18.
RiedelR, MeraG, HauserR and KlonczynskiA: ‘Silicon-based polymer-derived ceramics: synthesis properties and applications – a review dedicated to Prof. Dr. Fritz Aldinger on the occasion of his 65th birthday’, J. Ceram. Soc. Jpn, 2006, 114, 425–444.
ColomboP: ‘Engineering porosity in polymer-derived ceramics’, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 2008, 28, 1389–1395.
22.
CornuD, BernardS, DuperrierS, TouryB and MieleP: ‘Alkylaminoborazine-based precursors for the preparation of boron nitride fibers by the polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) route’, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 2005, 25, 111–121.
23.
ChenY, LiS, LuoY and XuC: ‘Fabrication of polycarbosilane and silicon oxycarbide microspheres with hierarchical morphology’, Solid State Sci., 2011, 13, 1664–1667.
24.
FessiH, PuisieuxF, DevissaguetJP, AmmouryN and BenitaS: ‘Nanocapsule formation by interfacial polymer deposition following solvent displacement’, Int. J. Pharm.1989, 55, R1–R4.
25.
GuterresSS, FessiH, BarrattG, DevissaguetJP and PuisieuxF: ‘Poly (DL-lactide) nanocapsules containing diclofenac. I: formulation and stability study’, Int. J. Pharm., 1995, 113, 57–63.
26.
TanY, XuK, LiL, LiuC, SongC and WangP: ‘Fabrication of size-controlled starch-based nanospheres by nanoprecipitation’, ACS. Appl. Mater. Int., 2009, 1, 956–959.
27.
HasegawaY, FengCX, SongYC and SatoM: ‘Ceramic fibres from polymer precursor containing Si–O–Ti bonds’, J. Mater. Sci., 1991, 26, 3657–3664.
28.
YuY, GuoY, ChengX and ZhangY: ‘Preparation of TiO2/SiO2 composite fiber by thermal decomposition of polycarbosilane-tetrabutyl titanate hybrid precursor’, J. Mater. Chem., 2009, 19, 5637–5642.
29.
WangCH, ChangYH, YenMY, PengCW, LeeCY and ChiuHT: ‘Synthesis of silicon carbide nanostructures via a simplified Yajima process-reaction at the vapor-liquid interface’, Adv. Mater.2005, 17, 419–422.
30.
ZhouC, YangL, GengH, ZhengQ, MinH, YuZ and XiaH: ‘Preparation of Si–C–N–Fe magnetic ceramic derived from iron-modified polysilazane’, Ceram. Int., 2012, 38, 6815–6822.
31.
StainmesseS, OrecchioniAM and NakacheE: ‘Modelling of an original process to obtain biocompatible polymeric nanospheres’, Proc. 6th Cong. Int. Technol. Pharm., 1992, 1, 89–97.
32.
Galindo-RodriguezS, AllémannE, FessiH and DoelkerE: ‘Physicochemical parameters associated with nanoparticle formation in the salting-out, emulsification-diffusion, and nanoprecipitation methods’, Pharm. Res., 2004, 21, 1428–1439.
33.
BilatiU, AllémannE and DoelkerE: ‘Development of a nanoprecipitation method intended for the entrapment of hydrophilic drugs into nanoparticles’, Eur. J. Pharm. Sci.2005, 24, 67–75.
34.
PrausP, DvorskýR, HorínkováP, PospíšilM and KovářP: ‘Precipitation, stabilization and molecular modeling of ZnS nanoparticles in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide’, J. Colloids Interface Sci., 2012, 377, 58–63.
35.
MengF, YinJ, DuanYQ, YuanZH and BieLJ: ‘Co-precipitation synthesis and gas-sensing properties of ZnO hollow sphere with porous shell’, Sens. Actuators B, 2011, 156B, 703–708.
36.
ZanfirM and GavriilidisA: ‘Modelling of a catalytic plate reactor for dehydrogenation-combustion coupling’, Chem. Eng. Sci., 2001, 56, 2671–2683.
