Preparation of β–SiC Nanorods with and Without Amorphous SiO2 Wrapping Layers

Preparation of β–SiC nanorods with and without amorphous SiO2 wrapping layers was achieved by carbothermal reduction of sol-gel derived silica xerogels containing carbon nanoparticles. The β–SiC nanorods with amorphous SiO2 wrapping layers were obtained by carboreduction at 1650 °C for 1.5 h, and at the end of 1.5 h the temperature was steeply raised to 1800 °C and held for 30 min; they are typically up to 20 µm in length. The diameters of the center thinner β–SiC nanorods within the amorphous SiO2 wrapping layers are in the range 10–30 nm, while the outer diameters of the corresponding amorphous SiO2 wrapping layers are between 20 and 70 nm. The β–SiC nanorods without amorphous SiO2 wrapping layers were produced by carbothermal reduction only at 1650 °C for 2.5 h, and their diameters are in agreement with those of the center thinner β–SiC nanorods wrapped in amorphous SiO2 layers. Large quantities of SiC rod nuclei and the nanometer-sized nucleus sites on carbon nanoparticles are both favorable to the formation of much thinner β–SiC nanorods. The formation of the outer amorphous SiO2 wrapping layer is from the combination reaction of decomposed SiO vapor and O2.