A double layer nanostructure SiC coating for anti-oxidation protection of carbon/carbon composites prepared by chemical vapor reaction and chemical vapor deposition

A double layer nanostructure SiC coating was prepared by chemical vapor reaction and chemical vapor deposition to protect carbon/carbon composites from oxidation. The obtained dense coating reveals a typical crystalline structure and combines well with the substrate. The outer layer of the coating consists of SiC nanocrystals and nanowires, whereas the inner layer is mainly composed of SiC microcrystals, nanocrystals and nanowires. The oxidation and cyclic thermal shock test performed at 1400 °C in air demonstrates that the prepared dense nanostructure coating has excellent anti-oxidation behavior and thermal shock resistance at high temperature. After 400 h oxidation and 34 cycles of thermal shock from 1400 °C to room temperature, the weight loss of the coated sample is only 1.67%. In the oxidation process, the amorphous silica formed at the beginning of the oxidation crystallizes to cristobalite as oxidation time increased. The formation of cristobalite resulted in micro-cracks formed along grain boundaries in the cyclic thermal shock test. As only cracks are formed on the coating surface, it can be concluded that the formation of the penetration cracks may be the reason for the weight loss of the SiC coated composite.