Synthesis of β-SiC nanowires with SiO 2 wrappers

Abstract

β-SiC nanowires with uniform amorphous SiO 2 wrappers have been synthesized by carbothermal reduction of the sol-gel derived silica containing carbon nanoparticles. The product was characterized by IR, TEM, HREM, and EDX. The nanostructures are more than 20 μm in length. The diameters of β-SiC nanowires are in the range 10–25 nm, while the outer diameters of the SiO 2 wrappers are between 20 and 70 nm. The formation of β-SiC nanowires is ascribed to the large quantities of SiC nuclei and the nanometer-sized SiC nucleus sites on carbon nanoparticles. The SiO 2 wrappers come from the combination reaction of the SiO vapor and O 2 decomposed from the unreacted SiO 2.