Synthesis of SiC nanowires by thermal evaporation method without catalyst assistant

In this paper, SiC nanowires were successfully synthesized on Si substrate by the thermal evaporation method without the assistance of a metal catalyst. The phase composition, morphology and microstructure of the SiC–SiO2 core–shell nanowires were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The SiC nanowires produced grew along the [111] direction and had diameters of 50–100 nm with lengths of several hundreds of microns. The SiC nanowire was composed of a single-crystalline SiC core with a thin amorphous SiO2 shell. The growth mechanism of the nanowires can be explained by the vapor–solid (VS) process.