Effect of Thermal Initiator Concentration on the Electrical Behavior of Polymer‐Derived Amorphous Silicon Carbonitrides

The electric conductivity of polymer‐derived silicon carbonitrides made from a polysilazane modified with different amounts of thermal initiator is measured at room temperature. It is found that the thermal initiator has a significant effect on the electric conductivity, which first increases and then decreases with increasing thermal initiator concentration. The highly conductive sample exhibits a very high piezoresistive coefficient and weak temperature dependence as compared with the low conductive samples. The microstructures of the materials are characterized using a Raman spectroscope. Based on these results, two conducting mechanisms are identified: the highly conductive sample is dominated by the tunneling–percolation mechanism, while the low conductive samples are dominated by matrix phases. The effect of the thermal initiator on the development of the microstructures of the materials is discussed.