Preparation of SiC nanowires and nanotubes by thermal arc plasma and study of parameters controlling its growth

One-dimensional (1-D) multiwalled Silicon Carbide (SiC) nanotubes (SiC-NT) and nanowires (SiC-NW) were synthesized by arc plasma method using a mixture of silicon and carbon powders under an optimized arc current and for two different oxygen partial pressures. These, as-synthesized nanostructures were characterized by XRD, EDX and HRTEM. The results show that the formation of either SiC-NT or SiC-NW can be controlled by varying the oxygen partial pressures. HRTEM analysis indicate that the diameter of both the SiC-NT and SiC-NW are of 25–30 nm with the lengths extending upto few microns for SiC-NW and hundreds of nanometers for SiC-NT.