Characteristics of silicon carbide nanowires synthesized on porous body by carbothermal reduction

Abstract

We synthesized silicon carbide (beta-SiC) nanowires with nano-scale diameter (30 - 400 nm) and micro-scale length (50 - 200 mu m) on a porous body using low-grade silica and carbon black powder by carbothermal reduction at 1300 - 1600 degrees C. The SiC nanowires were formed by vapor-liquid-solid deposition with self-evaporated Fe catalysts in low-grade silica. We investigated the characteristics of the SiC nanowires, which were grown on a porous body with Ar flowing in a vacuum furnace. Their structural, optical, and electrical properties were analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selective area electron diffraction (SAED). We obtained high-quality SiC single crystalline nanowire without stacking faults that may have uses in industrial applications.