Polysilazanes — Binders That Make a Difference

By Yang Wang, Ralf Grottenmuller, Theresa Lorenz

Automobiles, buildings, and infrastructure all require long-lasting surface protection against weathering, corrosion, heat, and abrasion. Thus, having robust protective coatings is crucial for preserving their value and reducing maintenance cost and down time. While polyurethanes and epoxies are the conventional solutions for protective coatings, fluoropolymers and Si-containing polymers have attracted a considerable amount of attention because of their excellent performance in chemical resistance, heat stability, or surface hardness.

Among them, polysilazanes have emerged as an outstanding binder material for high-temperature, weather-proof, and abrasion-resistant coatings. Since the first report by Stock et al. in 1921,¹ polysilazanes have been used in a wide variety of applications including polymer-derived ceramics,² thermal, gas and moisture barriers,³ thin-film electronics,⁴ protective coatings,⁵ and more.⁶ They are excellent precursors for ceramic-like coatings with dense Si–O–Si and Si–N–Si network. In addition, the variety of chemical group substituents on the backbone enables fine-tuning of their performance properties.