Structural analysis of silicon carbide prepared from two types of carbon sources

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiCcs and SiCdk) powders have been prepared from Murzuq silica sand (fine silica) as a silica source(Mws), citrus Sinensis tree branches (cs), and dates kernels (dk) taken as carbon sources for industrial applications. The sol–gel method was employed to prepare the samples. The samples were calcinated in a bath containing silica/carbon mixture for 6 h. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that both samples with different carbon sources contained three polytypes of 6H, 21R, and 3C-SiC. The morphology of the samples has been measured using the field emission scanning microscope (FE-SEM). Large particles accompanied by thin rod-like structures with average lengths between 0.3 and 2 μm were observed for the SiCcs sample. The morphology of the SiCdk sample showed large particles and some holes. Raman spectra of both samples showed peaks located at 1356 cm−1 and 1596 cm−1 related to D and G peaks, respectively.