Processing of polymer-derived silicon carbide foams and their adsorption capacity for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

A process is described for preparing light weight and low cost polymer-derived silicon carbide foams by impregnation with polymeric precursor and polyurethane foam, followed by pyrolysis in inert atmosphere. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the resultant silicon carbide foams had a fully open and interconnected porous structure with dense struts. The suitability of these silicon carbide foams for the adsorption of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and their metabolites was studied. The results showed that silicon carbide foams adsorbed the target compounds and adsorption capacity increases with increasing the contact time between the foam and the analytes investigated.