HRTEM and ELNES analysis of polycarbosilane-derived Si–C–O bulk ceramics

A series of analyses by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) has been carried out to investigate the nanostructure and the chemical bonding of Si–C–O bulk ceramics prepared by pyrolysis of oxygen-controlled polycarbosilane (PCS). HRTEM revealed that the Si–C–O ceramics with higher oxygen content tended to keep an amorphous microstructure. EELS allowed the examination of energy-loss, near-edge-structures (ELNES) that detected clear transition signals of the chemical bonding around Si atoms from Si–C bonding to Si–O bonding with an increase of oxygen content. The microstructure of the PCS-derived Si–C–O bulk ceramics is characterized as a function of oxygen content.