Long β‐Silicon Carbide Necklace‐Like Whiskers Prepared by Carbothermal Reduction of Wood Flour/Silica/Phenolic Composite

Long silicon carbide (SiC) microwhiskers with a necklace‐like morphology have been successfully synthesized by a carbothermal reduction process without using any catalyst. In the process, the wood flour/silica (SiO 2 )/phenolic composite was chosen as both silicon and carbon sources. The morphology and structure were investigated by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Studies found that the as‐synthesized whiskers were grown as single crystalline β‐SiC along the (111) direction with the length up to hundreds of micrometers. The whiskers consisted of β‐SiC strings with diameters of 1–2 μm and periodic β‐SiC beads with diameters of 3–5 μm. On the basis of characterization results, a growth mechanism is proposed to clarify the formation of necklace‐like whiskers.