Fabrication and characterization of ZrC nano-ceramics derived from a single-source precursor and its feasibility as ZrC/C fibers in structure and function

A novel ZrC ceramic precursor was prepared by a polymer-derived ceramics method and ultraviolet (UV) crosslinking by using zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl4), ethylenediamine (EDA), and diallylamine (DAA) as raw materials. On this basis, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon nanofiber (CNF)-coated ZrC ceramic precursors were synthesized by electrostatic spinning. The as-prepared fibers exhibited excellent designability and machinability by adjusting the proportion of precursors. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that these materials are converted to nano-sized ZrC ceramics and ZrC/C fibers with a highly crosslinked network structure after high-temperature annealing. ZrC/C fibers still maintained good electrochemical properties at high temperatures. Finally, the tensile test revealed that the mechanical properties of ZrC/C fibers are significantly superior to those of CNF. Specifically, the ceramic fibers with 25% ZrC content exhibited the maximum tensile strength of 71.7 MPa.