Preparation of Ultrafine Silicon Oxycarbide Fiber Mats Via Electrospinning/sol–gel Method: Investigation of the Solution Spinnability

Ultrafine silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) fiber mats were prepared through a sol–gel method combined electrospinning technique. The influence of sol–gel solution viscosity on its spinnability has been studied. By partially removing solvents after the sol–gel preparation, the solution could be stably spun and resulted in fiber mats with an average fiber diameter of 560 nm. The formation, morphology and composition of the SiOC fiber mats have been studied by TGA, FT-IR, SEM, XPS and XRD. Due to flexibility and free-standing property, the SiOC fiber mats will have a wide range of applications.