Silicon
carbide (SiC) is a promising material for a variety of
applications in the biomedical, aerospace, and energy industries.
Solution-phase techniques have long been used to deposit precursor
films prior to pyrolysis into SiC, but they tend to face difficulties
with substrate compatibility and the use of toxic solvents. In this
study, we introduce a solventless synthesis route for fabricating
SiC-type films by depositing an organosilicon copolymer poly(vinylphenyldimethylsilane-co-divinylbenzene)
(p(VPDMS-co-DVB)) film using low-energy plasma chemical vapor deposition
(PECVD) followed by subsequent pyrolysis. The chemical structure of
the film was systematically studied in situ during pyrolysis as a
function of temperature using diffuse reflection infrared Fourier
transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). The majority of the functional groups
were found to have disappeared by a temperature of 800 °C, with
most of the mass loss occurring between 350 and 520 °C. Thermogravimetric
analysis (TGA) was used to measure the loss of mass as the pyrolysis
temperature was increased, and the observed pyrolysis rates were compared
to estimates of such rates from the DRIFTS analysis. Our proposed
synthesis route provides a scalable and solventless method of producing
SiC-type ceramic films for such applications as high-temperature sensors
and membranes.