Transmission Electron Microscopic Characterization of Ceramics Formed by Pyrolysis of Organometallic Polymer Precursors

Abstract

Transmission lectron microscopy using bright‐field and darkfield imaging and selected area electron diffraction was used to study ceramics pyrolyzed from a variety of organometallic polymer precursors. Determination of whether the pyrolyzed products were truly amorphous or microcrystalline was made and correlated to previous scanning electron microscopy or powder X‐ray diffraction observations. Results indicated that most of the resultant as‐pyrolyzed microstructures were amorphous, and that polymer pyrolysis presents significant opportunities for fabricating unique amorphous materials.