REVIEWS 

   (click on the book for more information)

DEStech Publications has published an outstanding and very valuable and comprehensive book about the special materials class of polymer derived ceramics. The book is edited by a lot of well known pioneers in this field of scientific research, development and application like P. Colombo, R. Riedel, G.D. Sorarù and H.-J. Kleebe. By this the reader is granted to get up to date information about a chemistry which will develop fast, driven by today's high demand for new and improved materials.

The book starts after a short preface written by Rishi Raj with a historical review about the development of polymer derived ceramics. It outlines clear the importance of this kind of chemistry for complex Si, C, O, N, B, Al, Ti etc. containing ceramic systems, which can not be synthesized via other methods. Beside this is evidence given that the materials show too unexpected exceptional properties in respect of thermal, chemical and oxidation stability.

It follows a chapter about the synthesis and properties of preceramic polymers, introducing B-N – and B-C-N - systems. This chapter gives a good introduction into the syntheses, structures and possible applications for Boron based polymers. This chapter is followed consequently by another member of the third main group: Aluminium, which reviews the work done with Al – based precursors.The introduction to the chemical design of preceramic polymers is finished by a large chapter about the organosilicon based precursors, i.e. the polymeric silanes, silazanes and siloxanes and their combination with other elements like B or Al.

Furthermore the reader will find well documented information about structural, thermal, mechanical, optical, electrical, magnetic and oxidation properties. There is also a part normally missed in typical chemical books: the description of the processing and applications of these precursors, which shows impressive the outstanding potential of this chemistry. This part counts for the half of the book.

It is obvious that such a review contains too an excellent citation of the literature used. Alone this makes it already highly valuable.

I can recommend truly this book and see it as a must have for anybody who is interested in this field of chemistry and for everybody who has to develop, to search for, and to decide about projects (and funding) of materials of the future. As it is said in the book: "Ceramics are the materials of the future – and they always will be!"

There is nothing left to add.

Dr. Harald G. Beurich
Independent Scientist, Germany

April 2010