Synthesis of a novel mesoporous silicon carbide with a thorn-ball-like shape

A novel kind of mesoporous silicon carbide (SiC) was synthesized via the carbothermal reduction reaction of carbonaceous silicon xerogel. The purified SiC sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, electron microscopy and N2 porosimetry. The results show that the SiC obtained has a thorn-ball-like (TBL) shape. The TBL SiC sample has a surface area of 141 m2/g and a pore diameter in the range of 2–30 nm, and possesses two different kinds of pores.