Effects of Starting Carbon Sources on the Carbothermal Synthesis of SiC Powders

Silicon carbide (SIC) powders have been prepared at 1200-1500 degrees C by carbothermal reduction of two kind precursors of carbonl/silica mixtures: coked rice husk with high-carbon content, and gasified rice husk with low-carbon content mixed with carbon powders as an external carbon sources. The differences in nature of carbon matter in the external source and coked rice husk, and their effect on SiC synthesis have been studied by TG-DSC, TEM, XRD and laser diffraction technique. Experimental results show that the difference in nature of carbon source may affect the formation of SiC powders. The characteristics of the synthesized SiC particles strongly depend on the characteristics of the carbon sources.