Thermodynamics of Volatile Silicon Hydroxides Studied

Silicon-based ceramics are promising candidate structural materials for heat engines. The long-term stability of these materials to environmental degradation is dependent on the formation and retention of a protective SiO2 layer. It is well known that SiO2 forms stable volatile hydroxides in the presence of water vapor at elevated temperatures. Combustion conditions, which characteristically are at high velocities, contain significant water vapor pressures, and high temperatures tend to promote continuous formation of these hydroxides with resulting material degradation. For the degradation of silicon-based ceramics to be predicted, accurate thermodynamic data on the formation of silicon hydroxides are needed.