Facile one-pot formation of ceramic fibres from preceramic polymers by pressurised gyration

This paper reports for the very first time a facile and simple method, consisting of simultaneous centrifugal spinning and solution blowing, to mass produce ceramic fibres from preceramic polymers. Solutions of two different commercially available silicone resins and a mixture of a silicone resin and graphene were used, and a polymer (polyvynilpyrolidone) was added to aid the fibre generation process. The fibre diameter and the morphology of the spun and the pyrolysed fibres were shown to be influenced by rotating speed, working pressure and the polymer concentration. Non-porous fibres were obtained using a low volatility binary solvent system and, after pyrolysis at high temperature, dense SiOC ceramic fibre bundles were produced. This fabrication method based on pressurised gyration shows great promise in the mass production of ceramic fibre bundles. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.