Synthesis and characterization of bamboo-like SiC nanofibers

The bamboo-like silicon carbide nanofibers were synthesized by the carbothermal reduction of the carbonaceous silicon xerogel containing lanthanum nitrate. The xerogel was heated to 1300 °C in argon flow in a horizontally tubular reactor and produced as-synthesized sample. The as-synthesized sample was then heated in air at 700 °C for removal of the residual carbon and treated by nitric acid and then hydrofluoric acid for elimination of the unreacted silica and other impurities. The purified product was characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and HRTEM. The results indicated that the product was bamboo-like β-SiC nanofibers with a diameter of 40–100 nm and a length of tens to hundreds of micrometers and had planar stacking faults perpendicular to the fiber axis.