Synthesis of silicon carbide nanowires with different morphologies by carbothermal reduction

Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and phenolic resin were employed as silica and carbon sources, respectively, and lanthanum nitrate and celyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as additives to prepare silicon carbide nanowires. XRD, SEM, TEM and EDX were used to characterize the SIC nanowires. The results show that the nanowires prepared by the carbothermal reduction method are beta-SiC while their morphologies could be linear, bamboo-like, beaded or branched depending on the metal catalyst and surfactant employed in the sol-gel process.