Several millimeters long SiC-SiOx nanowires synthesized by carbon black and silica sol

Several millimeters long SiC-SiOx nanowires with the diameters of 50-300 nm were successfully synthesized by carbothermal reduction using the raw materials of carbon black, silica sol and alumina at 1400 °C. The morphology and microstructure of nanowires have been studied in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron energy scattering (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The nanowires were mainly in a straight wire-like morphology and consisted of 3C-SiC. Alumina played an important role in regulating the content of SiO2 in the reaction to produce SiO and keep nanowires subsequently growth along one-dimensional direction, and then an alumina-assisted growth of vapor-solid (VS) mechanism was proposed for the growth mechanism of several millimeters long SiC-SiOx nanowires.