Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Partially crystalline silicon nitride, with a specific surface area greater than 200 m2/g, is obtained by the pyrolysis of an organometallic, polymeric precursor under NH3 to 1000 °C. Additional heating to 1400 °C under N2 produces alpha-Si3N4. The addition of up to 15% h-BN was found to affect the coarsening characteristics of amorphous silicon nitride by promoting surface area reduction and suppressing crystallinity. By combining Si3N4 and BN molecular and polymeric precursors prior to ceramic conversion, or incorporating Si, N, and B into a single preceramic polymer, the relative proportion and crystallinity of the ceramic phases can be controlled in the resulting Si3N4/BN composites.