Synthesis of high crystalline beta SiC nanowires on a large scale without catalyst

Abstract A simple method was developed for the synthesis of SiC nanowires on a large scale, where the graphite plate and Si–SiO 2 powder mixture were used as the substrate and raw materials, respectively. By this method, pure and high crystalline beta SiC nanowires can be synthesized on the graphite substrate without catalyst. According to the characterization results of XRD, FE-SEM and TEM, it was found that the synthesized nanowires are grown along the [111] orientation and have high crystallinity, clean surface and uniform diameter. And also, it was demonstrated that this method possesses some advantages, such as, low cost and high yield.