Silicon carbide nanowires and composites obtained from carbon nanotubes

Abstract

In this dissertation a simple route has been developed to synthesize Silicon Carbide (?-SiC) nanothreads and C-SiC coaxial nanotubes by solid/liquid-state reaction between multiwall carbon nanotubes and silicon conducted at 1473 K and 1723 K, respectively. Through the kinetics study of SiC formation from carbon nanotubes and Si, our results demonstrated that carbon nanotubes may have higher chemical reactivity than other forms of elemental Carbon. Based on the above investigation, CNT/SiC and diamond/CNT/SiC were manufactured. Key factors influencing the mechanical properties of final products, such as phase composition, grain size, stress-strain, sintering time, and sintering temperature were thoroughly studied with Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, SEM and TEM techniques. Taking advantage of high elasticity of Carbon nanotube and its ability to block the microcrack propagation and dislocation movement, both composites showed enhanced fracture toughness. Carbon nanotubes composites trigger a new field in fundamental science and manifest potential application in multiple industries.