Combustion synthesis of one‐dimensional nanocrystalline silicon carbide

Beta‐SiC (cubic phase) nanowires (SiCNWs) have been grown spontaneously during the autothermal self‐propagating high‐temperature synthesis (SHS) from elemental silicon and poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) powder mixtures in oxygen‐enriched atmosphere. The combustion process was on‐line monitored using high‐speed photography in order to estimate the reaction processing time which was well below 1 s. From the emission spectroscopy the averaged combustion temperature was evaluated to be close to 2000 K. The products were characterized by wet chemical analysis, X‐ray diffraction, scanning and transmission microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The raw products were processed by wet chemistry to obtain pure (above 90%) well‐crystallized one‐dimensional single crystals of SiCNWs. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)