LOW COST SYNTHESIS OF NANOCRYSTALLINE SILICON CARBIDE STARTING WITH FULLERENE PRECURSORS

A NOVEL TECHNIQUE FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF NANOCRYSTALLINE SILICON CARBIDE (SIC) POWDERS IS PLANNED STARTING WITH A SILICON-BASED PRECURSOR AND FULLERENE COMPOUNDS AS THE RAW MATERIALS. THE REACTIVITY OF FULLERENES, COMBINED WITH PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED RESULTS IN THE SYNTHESIS OF LIMITED QUANTITIES OF SUCH NONCRYSTALLINE SIC POWDERS USING A SPARK EROSION TECHNIQUE, FORM THE BASIS OF THIS CONCEPT. SUCH PROCESSING WILL BE CARRIED OUT UNDER A LIQUID SOLVENT ENVELOPE THEREBY PREVENTING EXPOSURE OF THE HIGHLY REACTIVE SIC POWDER SURFACES TO THE AMBIENT ATMOSPHERE. SUCH NANOCRYSTALLINE SIC POWDER WITH GOOD PURITY IS EXPECTED TO EXHIBIT EXCELLENT LOW TEMPERATURE SINTERING CHARACTERISTICS WHICH WILL LEAD TO FULLY DENSE SIC COMPONENTS OBTAINABLE EVEN WITH LOW TEMPERATURE PROCESSING. THE PHASE I PROJECT WILL INVOLVE DEMONSTRATING FEASIBILITY OF PRODUCING COMMERCIALLY SIGNIFICANT QUANTITIES OF NANOCRYSTALLINE SIC AND CHARACTERIZING THEIR MICROSTRUCTURE AND SINTERABILITY CHARACTERISTICS.