Low temperature synthesis of β-SiC powder by the Na flux method using fullerene and silicon

Silicon carbide (SiC) powder was prepared by heating a mixture of fullerene and silicon powders at 900-1000 K for 24 h with a Na flux. X-ray and electron diffraction revealed that the obtained powder was beta-SiC. The agglomerates of SiC particles with a size of a few dozen nm were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The specific surface area and mean particle size of the SiC powder prepared at 1000 K were 12 m(2)/g and 88 nm, respectively.