Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR): Application to precursors of ceramics—Polycarbosilane

The chemical structures of oxidation- and electron irradiation-cured polycarbosilane fibers has been studied by IR and chemical analysis, but its structure has not been identified in detail. In this work, the chemical structure and curing mechanism was examined by solid-state high-resolution NMR spectroscopy. From the analysis of NMR spectra, it is explained that (i) in oxidation curing of PCS fibers, oxygen attacks first the SiC₃H bond and forms the SiC₃O bond and, next, the SiC₄ backbone bond and forms the SiC₂O₂ units; (ii) in electron irradiation curing, the signal intensity of SiC₃H units decreases with the increase in dose, the increase in the signal being due to the formation of SiC₄ units; (iii) solid-state²⁹Si high-resolution (CP/MAS) NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for investigating the chemical structure and curing mechanism of PCS fibers complementing infrared and solid-state¹³C high-resolution NMR spectroscopy; and (iv)¹H CRAMPS NMR spectroscopy is very useful for investigating the chemical structure and curing mechanism of PCS fibers.