Polymer-derived
SiBCN ceramics (PDCs-SiBCN) are promising ultrahigh-temperature
ceramics owing to their excellent high-temperature oxidation resistance
and electromagnetic wave (EMW)-absorbing capability. In this paper,
the microstructure evolutions, the dielectric properties, and EMW
absorption properties of Y2O3-doped SiBCN ceramics
were investigated. The results reveal that Y2O3 acting as a catalyst promotes the formation of SiC, BN(C), and graphite
crystalline phases in the SiBCN ceramics, and these crystalline phases
are constructed as conduction phases and polarization phases to enhance
the EMW-adsorbing properties. The minimum reflection loss (RLmin) reaches −42.22 dB at 15.28 GHz, and the effective
absorption bandwidth is 4.72 GHz (13.28–18.00 GHz). In addition,
there is only 0.56 wt % mass loss for the Y2O3-doped SiBCN ceramics when they are heated from ambient temperature
to 1500 °C in air, indicating that the Y2O3-doped SiBCN ceramics obtain excellent oxidation resistance at high
temperature. We believe that rare metal oxidation is beneficial for
the growth of crystalline phases in the PDCs, resulting in high EMW-absorbing
properties and oxidation resistance. Thus, the research extends a
novel method and design strategy for microstructure regulation and
property enhancement of PDCs.