Progress of Advanced Boron Carbide Ceramic Materials Prepared by Precursor Derived Method

Boron carbide (B 4 C) is a kind of advanced ceramics with excellent properties, which has been widely applied in military, nuclear, aerospace, and other high-tech fields. The fabrication of boron carbide by precursor derived method has been well developed in recent years. Comparing with other preparative approaches, the precursor derived method has a variety of advantages including simple elemental composition, good formability, high ceramic yield, and low energy consumption, which has been widely applied to prepare boron carbide powder, fibers, mesoporous ceramics and ceramic microspheres. In this paper, current development of boron carbide prepared by precursor derived method was reviewed. Synthesis and application of boron carbide precursors were mainly discussed. In addition, the future efforts and application prospects of precursor-derived boron carbide ceramics were also analyzed.