Development of a rapid crosslinking preceramic polymer system

A low-viscosity, fast crosslinking preceramic polymer system was developed as a base for liquid state processing. The system consists of a water-crosslinkable silicone polymer, a latent water source for in situ water generation, and a tin catalyst. While the silicone polymer and the water source can be mixed in any proportion, the catalyst must be added separately to achieve crosslinking at room temperature within a short time. By pyrolysis in inert atmosphere at 1000 °C the system was shown to have a high ceramic yield of ∼54 wt.%. The base system is compatible with alkanes, which makes it suitable for viscosity control when the system is filler-loaded for tailoring of properties. Due to its low viscosity one possible use of the system is in inkjet printing. Further since the crosslinking is rapid it can also be used in the layer by layer manufacturing of ceramic parts.