Novel synthesis of ultra-long single crystalline β-SiC nanofibers with strong blue/green luminescent properties

Ultra-long single crystalline beta-SiC nanofibers were successfully prepared on a Ni(NO3)(2) coated graphite felt by a facile molten-salt-mediated chemical vapor deposition route using silicon and phenolic resin as starting materials at 1350 degrees C. The as-synthesized SiC nanofibers were 100-300 nm in diameter and hundreds of microns up to millimeters in length. The nanofibers possessed a near-perfect crystal microstructure with tiny amounts of stacking faults. The growth process of the SiC nanofibers was determined by the combination of vapor liquid solid base-growth and vapor solid tip-growth mechanism. The as-synthesized SiC nanofibers exhibited strong blue-green luminescent properties, making possible potential application in the LED and optoelectronic nanodevices. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.