Microphase Separation Technique Mediated SiCN Ceramics: A Method for Mesostructuring of Polymer Derived SiCN Ceramics

Polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) are widely utilised across various fields, including engineering, science, and medicine. The ability to enhance their surface properties through mesostructuring transforms bulk PDCs into advanced materials with superior functionalities. Among PDCs, silicon carbonitride (SiCN) stands out as a non-oxide ceramic with exceptional properties such as high-temperature resistance, chemical inertness, mechanical stress resistance, and semiconducting capability. This review focuses on mesostructuring of SiCN ceramics through microphase separation of direct inorganic precursor-block-organic copolymers and other significant approaches. This approach is particularly advantageous, as the resulting mesostructured SiCN ceramics can be precisely tuned by adjusting polymer ratios, controlling thermal cross-linking, and implementing programmed pyrolysis. Furthermore, this method enables the synthesis of mesostructured SiCN-supported metal nanoparticles for catalysis. By incorporating metal precursors into amphiphilic copolymers prior to microphase separation and pyrolysis, a convenient and efficient route to catalytic materials is established. This review provides a comprehensive discussion of existing research on mesostructured SiCN ceramics and their supported catalysts, with a particular emphasis on self-assembly and microphase separation techniques.