Sugar-Derived Nanocrystalline Graphite Matrix C/C Composites with Excellent Ablative Resistance at 3000 °C

Sugars are renewable resources essential to human life, but they are rarely used as raw materials for the industrial production of carbon-based materials, especially for the preparation of carbon fiber-reinforced carbon-matrix (C/C) composites, which are extremely useful for the semiconductor and aerospace sectors. Herein, a method utilizing sugar-derived carbon to replace petrochemicals as dense matrix to preparing C/C composites is reported. The matrix from sugar-derived C/C (S-C/C) composites has a nanocrystalline graphite structure that is highly thermally stable and effectively bonded to the carbon fibers. The mechanical properties of the S-C/C composite are comparable to those prepared from petrochemical sources; significantly, it exhibits a linear ablation rate of 0.03 mm s-1 after 200 s of ablation at 3000 degrees C in 10 MW m-2 heat flux. This new class of S-C/C is promising for use in a broad range of fields, ranging from semiconductor to aerospace. Utilizing sugar-derived carbon as a dense matrix to replace petrochemicals preparing C/C composites, and this matrix exhibit a nanocrystalline graphite structure with excellent thermal stability. Sugar-derived carbon matrix C/C composite show excellent ablative resistance at 3000 degrees C and 10 MW m-2 heat flux. In addition, the S-C/C is suitabile for the preparation of a large and complex shaped thermal protection component.image