Enhanced mechanical properties of amorphous SiOC nanofibrous membrane through in situ embedding nanoparticles

Abstract

Flexible ceramic nanofibers are highly desired due to their potential applications in free‐standing catalyst supports, fine particulate filters and flexible electronic devices. In this work, robust SiOC fibrous membranes composed of randomly oriented nanofibers with an average diameter of 550 nm were fabricated by a combination of electrospinning and post heat‐treatment process. The mechanical properties of the as‐prepared membranes were enhanced significantly through in situ embedding of palladium nanoparticles into the SiOC fibers. The optimized palladium‐doped SiOC fibrous membrane demonstrated a low flexural modulus of 7.79 kPa and a high tensile strength of 33.2 MPa. Reduced flaw size, initiation of nanocracks and pinning effect were proposed to explain the enhancement mechanism. Furthermore, the flexible SiOC membrane with excellent corrosion resistance exhibits a high filtration efficiency of 99.6% when the membrane weight is 4.8 g m−2, suggesting efficient filtration applications in harsh environments. This work also provides a feasible strategy for the design and fabrication of the flexible amorphous ceramic fiber membranes for various applications.

The Rising of Flexible and Elastic Ceramic Fiber Materials: Fundamental Concept, Design Principle, and Toughening Mechanism

“…Reproduced with permission. [ 62 ] Copyright 2018, Wiley‐VCH. m) Schematic diagram of the enhancement mechanism after introducing nanoparticles.…”

“…The increasing stress field limited the growth of local expansion and initiated some nanocracks around the nanoparticles, which helped to release the bending energy and relieve the stress. [ 62 ]…”

Multichannel and Super-flexible SiZrOC Ultrafine Fibers for High Temperature Thermal Insulation

“…Flexibility was a long-standing challenge in ceramic materials, especially in porous ceramic materials because the cracks were easily formed from the pores and propagate rapidly [23,29].…”

“…At microscale level, there were numerous t-ZrO2 nanograins wrapped in the amorphous SiOxCy phase. Theses nanograins could inhibit the initiation and propagation of cracks or lead to crack redirection [29]. Moreover, the stress could induce the transfer of t-ZrO2 to m-ZrO2 accompanied with volume expansion, which could also heal some cracks [31].…”

Physical and Thermal Studies of Carbon-Enriched Silicon Oxycarbide Synthesized from Floating Plants

“…Silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) is an important material that finds application in semiconductor devices [1,2], electrode materials of lithium-ion batteries [3,4], micro electromechanical systems devices [5], high temperature sensors [6], conductive protective coatings [7], and super-capacitor [8] due to its superior mechanical properties. SiOC exhibits high strength [9], high chemical durability [10], excellent oxidation resistance under high temperature, good antioxidant crystallization property [11], and exceptional thermal expansion properties [12]. However, amongst these, thermal properties of silicon oxycarbide were rarely studied.…”