Polymers that can be easily processed into fibers, films, or bodies are
excellent precursors for ceramics with useful morphologies. The ideal
preceramic polymer not only has proper physical properties (e.g. solubility
or fusibility) for processibility but also decomposes at low temperature
with high ceramic yield. One possibility for such precursors for yttria are
yttrium oxycarboxylates. The preparation of such polymers from YOC1 has been
investigated and several compounds with useful physical properties have been
discovered. These include a methanol-soluble yttrium oxycarboxylate,
(CH3OCH2CH2OCH2CO2YO)n
a liquid yttrium tricarboxylate,
(CH3OCH2CH2OCH2CO2)3Y,
and a method for preparing very concentrated yttrium mixed acetate and
formate sols.