Improvement in Oxidation and Thermal Shock Resistance of Molten Glass-Coated Carbon Materials by Interfacial Control

The coating of molten silicate glass on a porous carbon substrate was developed, without the formation of cristobalite at the carbon-glass layer interface, in order to improve the steam oxidation and thermal shock resistance. Initially, suitable conditions for coating were assumed from thermodynamic analysis. Based on these calculations, the wettability of the carbon to molten glass was modified by infiltration and pyrolysis of a Si-N precursor, and the coating with glass was carried out under higher N2 partial pressures. As a result, carbon substrates were completely sealed with glass, without the production of cristobalite at the interface, and the glass was infiltrated into the substrate. In contrast, coating with glass at lower N2 partial pressures, such as in Ar, were followed by the formation of cristobalite along with many pores at the interface. The structural changes occurring as a result of variation of the N2 partial pressure during sealing with glass are in good agreement with the thermodynamic analysis. The glass-coated carbon materials, which were fabricated at higher N2 partial pressure, possessed excellent steam oxidation resistance and thermal shock resistance.