Large-scale synthesis, growth mechanism, and photoluminescence of 3C-SiC nanobelts

SiC nanobelts were synthesized in large-scale by a simple and economical technique of chemical vapor deposition. The synthesized nanobelts were well crystallized 3C-SiC with a growth direction of [111]. Their widths are in the range of 0.5-3 µm, the thicknesses ranging from 50 to 200 nm, and the lengths are up to several hundreds of micrometers. The nanobelt growth may be governed by a ferrocene-assisted vapor-solid mechanism. The synthesized nanobelts exhibit three strong broad photoluminescence peaks at 401 nm, 452 nm, and 467 nm due to their belt-like shape, quantum size-confinement, and internal structure defects, which may have great potential applications such as light emitting diodes and display devices.