SiC nanowires in large quantities: Synthesis, band gap characterization, and photoluminescence properties

Silicon carbide nanowires (SiCNWs) were synthesized in large quantity using a thermal process with carbon nanotube (CNT)/Si–SiO2 (carbon nanotubes grown on Si–SiO2 core–shell substrates) at 1300 °C in an argon atmosphere. The characterization shows that the SiCNWs covered with a thin layer of amorphous SiO2 had diameters of 30–70 nm and lengths of 4–10 μm. The growth mechanism of the SiCNWs is proposed to be the combination of the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method and the CNTs confined reaction method. According to the Kubelka–Munk plot, the band gap energy for the SiCNWs was 2.8 eV. The Mott–Schottky plot shows that the flat-band potential of the SiCNWs was −0.46 V versus NHE and that the material exhibited n-type conductivity. The photoluminescence analysis of the SiCNWs revealed two wide bands of emission peaks centered at about 390 and 470 nm (CIE value: x=0.18, y=0.24).