Synthesis of blue-green photoluminescent β-SiC nanowires via a simple catalyst-free CVD technique

β-SiC nanowires (NWs) have been successfully synthesized in the absence of Ar gas protection by a simple, catalyst-free chemical vapour deposition (CVD) using silicon, trace nanoscale SiO2 particles, and phenolic resin powders as starting materials. The β-SiC NWs formed by a vapour-solid growth mechanism, with growth along the [1 1 1] direction. They were well-crystallized, with various morphologies (chain-bead, bamboo-shaped, and linear), and had lengths of up to dozens of microns and diameters of 80-650 nm. Moreover, they exhibited excellent blue-green photoluminescence properties due to the presence of stacking faults and amorphous SiO2. This novel CVD technique is green, low cost, and suitable for large scale production of SiC NWs.