Silicon carbide nanowires grown on graphene sheets

Silicon carbide nanowires (SCNs) were synthesized on graphene sheets by a simple heat treatment using a mixture of Si powders and commercial graphene sheets with Fe catalyst addition. A series of analytical techniques were employed to investigate the as-grown SCNs. The SCNs were confirmed to be the cubic β-SiC and grew along their preferred direction perpendicular to (111). Most of the SCNs with the average length of about 10 μm and diameter of 60 nm lay on the graphene sheets. A few SCNs of several micrometers in length show twisted morphology. Solid–liquid–solid (SLS) and vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanisms were proposed which interpret the SCNs׳ growth process on the graphene sheets and match the nucleation, growth of SCNs very well.