Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum, is a compound of silicon and carbon with chemical formula SiC. SiC may be produced in many forms, including but not limited to bulk ceramic materials, grains and filaments. Bulk or granular SiC has numerous uses including use as abrasive or cutting tools, a structural ceramic, in electronic circuit components and heating elements. SiC can also be produced in a whisker form. As is customary in the SiC production industry a “whisker” is defined as a SiC particle having a high aspect ratio of length to diameter. SiC whiskers of various sizes and manufactured by various techniques are often used to reinforce or toughen other materials.
The earliest SiC whiskers produced were fabricated from rice hulks (husks) and intense pressure in a SiO2 atmosphere. Later SiC whiskers were produced using petrochemical processes, and most recently production has relied on direct fluorination at high temperatures. A promising approach uses a SiO2—CH4—Na3AlF6 process, for example. Some attention has recently been focused on formation of molybdenum silicide-SiC powders produced in a similar manner.
Thus, known processes use either: (i) very high temperature for reacting constituents into the desired SiC, (ii) expensive and difficult to handle petrochemical derivatives (such as benzoxazine, toluene) or (iii) expensive precursors (e.g., B4C, “boron carbide”). For example, typical known processes occur at greater than 1,000° C., up to 2,200° C. which becomes problematic because higher temperatures demand different furnaces/processes with more critical control-related problems, for example, feed speed, time controlling in heat zone, gas discharge, heat discharge, and power quality monitoring.
The embodiments disclosed herein are directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.