Luminescent amorphous silicon carbide ultrafine nanoparticles fabricated by pulsed-laser ablation

Bulk quantities of amorphous silicon carbide(SiC) ultrafine nanoparticles have been prepared via pulsed-laser ablation on a polished 3C–SiC polycrystalline target immersed in de-ionized water. The diameter of the nanoparticles is ~10 ± 2.0 nm. The surface of the nanoparticles binds to the –H and –OH groups in water, suggesting that the ultrafine nanoparticles are hydrophilic. A direct band gap energy of 5.3 eV and an indirect band gap energy of 2.4 eV were determined via the ultraviolet–visible absorption characterization, which implies that the nanoparticles are of SiC. As excited at 320 nm, the suspension exhibited strong and stable violet emissions centered at 430 nm.