A novel light but strong SiC foam with hierarchical porous architecture was fabricated by using dough as raw material via carbonization followed by carbothermal reduction with silicon source. A significant synergistic effect is achieved by embedding meso- and nanopores in a microsized porous skeleton, which endows the SiC foam with high-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, thermal insulation, and mechanical properties. The microsized skeleton withstands high stress. The meso- and nanosized pores enhance multiple reflection of the incident electromagnetic waves and elongate the path of heat transfer. For the hierarchical porous SiC foam with 72.8% porosity, EMI shielding can be higher than 20 dB, and specific EMI effectiveness exceeds 24.8 dB·cm3·g-1 at a frequency of 11 GHz at 25-600 °C, which is 3 times higher than that of dense SiC ceramic. The thermal conductivity reaches as low as 0.02 W·m-1·K-1, which is comparable to that of aerogel. The compressive strength is as high as 9.8 MPa. Given the chemical and high-temperature stability of SiC, the fabricated SiC foam is a promising candidate for modern aircraft and automobile applications.
Keywords: SiC; electromagnetic interference shielding; hierarchical porous foam; mechanical property; thermal insulation.