Thermochemistry and growth mechanism of SiC nanowires

Abstract The chemical reaction thermodynamics and a novel two-stage growth mechanism of SiC nanowires synthesized by carbothermal reduction reactions were investigated based on the Si-C-O systems over a wide temperature range (1050 ≤ T ≤ 2000 K). The carbothermal reduction reaction process involves the fast formation of gaseous SiO and CO crucial intermediates, and the further carbon reduction of SiO to SiC. The relationship between the free energy changes and temperature at different pressures was also discussed. Some fundamental data in the work can help to analyze the thermochemistry of the carbothermal reduction reaction in the Si-C-O system, which is beneficial to optimize the temperature, pressure and the input precursors for controlling the SiC nanowire growth.