Chemical Instability of Silicon Carbide in the Presence of Transition Metals

SiC has been proved chemically unstable at temperatures >1073 K (800°C) in the presence of cobalt, nickel, or iron. The instability results from reactions of cobalt, nickel, or iron with SiC to produce silicides and free carbon. A method of calculation is proposed for thermodynamic analyses of these reactions. The results show that the silicides of cobalt, nickel, and iron are thermodynamically more stable than SiC. The metal–silicon eutectic may provide kinetic condition to the reactions. Calculations also are performed for reactions of SiC with other transition metals. Instabilities of SiC in the presence of those metals are predicted.