Carbon/carbon composites prepared by an ethanol pyrolysis

Ethanol, which is a renewable resource, was used as a precursor to prepare carbon/carbon (C/C) composites by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI), and the relationship between density and infiltration time was investigated. The flexural strength was determined by a three-point bend test. The microstructure and fracture-surface morphology of the composites were observed by polarized light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy respectively. Results show that the bulk density reaches 1.47 g/cm³ for a 96h densification, a significant improvement in densification efficiency compared with other precursors. A high-textured carbon matrix, consisting of rough laminar pyrocarbon, can be easily obtained. The C/C composites exhibit a pseudo-plastic failure behavior. Ethanol is a new promising precursor for the densification of C/C composites.