In pyrocarbon materials, the width of the Raman D band (FWHM D ) is very sensitive to low energy structural defects (e.g., disorientations of the graphene layers). The correlation between the two parameters, FWHM D and OA (as derived from selected area electron diffraction: SAED), has allowed to differentiate various pyrocarbons unambiguously. Furthermore, the optical properties of pyrocarbons, i.e., the extinction angle, the optical phase shift and the ordinary and extraordinary reflectance, have been accurately determined at 550 nm by means of the extinction curves method. These results are completed by in-plane and out-of-plane dielectric constant measurements by angular resolved EELS. Moreover, the hybridization degree of the carbon atoms has been assessed by the same technique. About 80% of the carbon atoms of the pyrocarbons have a sp 2 hybridization. The lack of pure sp 2 carbon atoms, as compared to graphite, might be explained by the presence of sp 3 -like line defects.
International audienceThe control of pyrocarbon (pyC) chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) is a key issue in the processing of high-performance C/C composites with applications in aerospace parts and braking technology. For years, the precise investigation of deposition kinetics and pyC nanometerscale anisotropy has been rehearsed in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and several variants of CVI with various pore sizes, and using mostly propane, propylene, and methane as source precursors. A literature survey and the analysis of recent experimental data have helped to understand better the role of gas-phase intermediate species in the various nanotextural transitions; a coherent modeling frame, which is suitable for propane, propylene, and methane—the latter having a neatly lower reactivity—has been set up and tested against experimental results from independent teams. The relation between nanotexture and processing conditions is then explained
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