Growth of 3C-SiC phase on silica-carbon composite with the carbothermal reduction method

Growth of 3C-SiC phase on silica-carbon composites has been conducted. Silica (95,48%) was obtained from rice husk purified using HCl then characterized with X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR). The carbon source was from activated carbon. Silicon carbide formation was synthesized using the carbothermal reduction method at temperature 1150 °C, 1300 °C, and 1450 °C. Characterization of silicon carbide phase was performed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and UV-Vis Spectrophotometer. The increased temperature on carbothermal reduction process related to the intensity improvement of 2θ phase 3C-SiC(111) which indicates that the 3C-SiC phase is increasingly formed. The 3C-SiC(220) phase crystallite size increased from 20.37 nm to 22.66 nm. The formation of 3C-SiC phase and crystalline size affected on the electronic properties of the synthesized material. The band gap decreased by the increased of 3C-SiC phase formed from ∼3,2 eV (1150 °C) to ∼2,7 eV (1300 °C) and ∼2,7 eV (1450 °C). (paper)