Journal of Inorganic Materials

   

Facile Fabrication of Ceramic-resin Coatings on C/CA Composites for Oxidation Protection at Medium Temperatures

TIAN Hongwang1,2, LUO Longfei3, HU Chenglong1,*, YAN Meng1, PANG Shengyang1, LI Jian1, TANG Sufang1   

  1. 1. Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China;
    2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang 110016, China;
    3. Xi'an Aerospace Composites Research Institute, Xi'an 710025, China
  • Received:2025-03-11 Revised:2025-05-19
  • Contact: HU Chenglong, professor. E-mail: clhu10s@imr.ac.cn
  • About author:TIAN Hongwang (1999), male, Master candidate. E-mail: hwtian22s@imr.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China (52272075 & 52472053); Research Fund of Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS, China (2021190); Defense Industrial Technology Development Program (JCKY2021130B007)

Abstract: Carbon fiber-reinforced carbon aerogel (C/CA) composites are one of the most promising candidates for applications requiring both thermal insulation and load bearing capabilities. The preparation of anti-oxidation coatings on C/CA to address its susceptibility to oxidation is a feasible approach to promote its application in oxidative environments. However, the currently reported coatings on C/CA mainly focus on the improvement of the ablation performance, with the coating preparation process typically necessitating high-temperature heat treatment. This procedure will increase the thermal conductivity of C/CA and reduce its thermal insulation ability. In this study, a series of ceramic-resin coatings were fabricated on C/CA through a simply slurry brushing-drying approach at room temperature. The effects of phenolic resin content on the coating structure, residual stress, thermal shock, and oxidation behavior were investigated. Due to the adhesive properties and curing-induced shrinkage, the PR-7.5 coating (containing 7.5% (in mass) phenolic resin in the slurry) exhibits bonding strength close to the fracture strength of the substrate and a residual compressive stress of 0.853 GPa, which is beneficial for resisting thermal shock cracking. However, excessive resin content (PR-10) was found toinduce tensile stress due to uneven curing shrinkage, thereby leading to thermal shock cracking. Meanwhile, oxidation tests reveal significantly reduced weight losses for PR-7.5 (17.46% at 800 °C/100 min; 8.15% at 1000 °C/120 min; 3.15% at 1200 °C/120 min) versus uncoated C/CA's 44.60% loss at 800 °C/20 min. This work provides a brand-new and simple approach to improving the anti-oxidation performance of C/CA and expands its application in mild oxidative environments.

Key words: C/CA composites, Coating, Oxidation, Residual stress, interfacial bonding

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