Chemical development of preceramic polyvinylsilazane photoresist for ceramic patterning

Abstract

In order to develop a preceramic photoresist for the fabrication of non-oxide SiCN ceramic microstructures by a mold-free photocuring shaping process, UV sensitive acrylate functional groups were successfully grafted onto the backbone of polyvinylsilazane by its reaction with ethyl-4-bromocrotonate via a high efficiency allyl bromide electrophilic substitution process. The as-modified polymer was characterized by H-1 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H-1-NMR) and 2D-H-1-H-1-NMR (COSY) spectroscopy, and its UV sensitivity was investigated by Differential PhotoCalorimetry (DPC) and Fourier Transform InfraRed (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The reaction mechanism was discussed in detail and the results showed that the as-modified polyvinylsilazane (m-PVSZ) is a promising preceramic photoresist.