The preparation of boron-doped silicon carbide powder by the carbothermal reduction of oxides derived from the hydrolyzed methyltriethoxysilane

A precursor prepared from a methyltriethoxysilane ((CH₃)Si(OC₂H₅)₃, MTES)-B(OC₂H₅)₃-polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composition was used for the synthesis of boron-doped SiC by carbothermal reduction. Initially, MTES was hydrolyzed with HCl (MTES: H₂O: HCl = 1 : 1 : 0.01) for 1 h in a sealed vessel. The number-average molecular weight measurement and a NMR spectrum revealed that the species in the solution were mainly oligometric. With the addition of B(OC₂H₅)₃, no significant changes in the distribution of the Si containing species were detected. The mixing of the hydrolyzed solution with a PAN-dimethylsulfoxide solution led to a homogeneous solution. After the evaporation of the solvents and the subsequent heat treatment at 220° C, brown precursor powder was obtained. By the heat treatment at 1600° C in Ar, it was converted to boron-doped SiC powder.