Preparation of SiO2–SiC composites with a precursor method

SiO2–SiC composite particles were prepared through a hybrid sol–gel precursor process. Compacts were prepared by using a conventional sintering process. The techniques of DSC–TG, SEM and XRD were use to characterize the composite particles and the sintered compacts. It was found that a core–shell structure was constructed in the composite particles with cores of SiC and shells of amorphous SiO2. Nucleation of SiO2 occurred at about 1200 °C. The optimized sintering temperature for 30SiO2–70SiC (vol.%) composites was about 1400 °C with a relatively homogeneous microstructure. The maximum density was about 2.03 g cm−3.