Green Synthesis of Silicon Carbide Nanowhiskers by Microwave Heating of Blends of Palm Kernel Shell and Silica

Silicon carbide nanomaterials especially silicon carbide nanowhiskers (SiCNWs) has been known for its excellent properties such as high thermal stability, good chemical inertness and excellent electronic properties. In this paper, a green synthesis of SiCNWs by microwave heating of blends of palm kernel shell (PKS) and silica was presented. The effect of ratio of PKS and silica on the synthesis process was also studied and reported. Blends of PKS and silica in different ratio were mixed homogenously in ultrasonic bath for 2 hours using ethanol as liquid medium. The blends were then dried on hotplate to remove the ethanol and compressed into pellets form.. Synthesis was conducted in 2.45 GHz multimode cavity at 1400 degrees C for 40 minutes. X-ray diffraction revealed that beta-SiC was detected for samples synthesized from blends with ratio of PKS to silica of 5: 1 and 7: 1. FESEM images also show that SiCNWs with the average diameter of 70 nm were successfully formed from blends with ratio of PKS to silica of 5: 1 and 7: 1. A vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism was proposed to explain the growth of SiCNWs from blends of PKS and silica.