Chemical vapor deposition of C on SiO2 and subsequent carbothermal reduction for the synthesis of nanocrystalline SiC particles/whiskers

►Carbon layer 5-8 nm thick was formed on SiO2 particles at 1300 K under CH4 flow. ►Pyrolytic C shell/SiO2 core nanocomposite powder with high C loading was attained. ►SiC particles/whiskers of ~ 100 nm were produced from C shell-SiO2 core powder. ►Both material could be synthesized in the same reactor using CH4 as a carbon source. ►Gibbs free energy minimization method is useful to better understand processes.