Nanostructural Characters of β-SiC Nanoparticles Prepared from Indonesian Natural Resource using Sonochemical Method

Silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles become one of the interesting non-oxide ceramics due to their physical and chemical properties. For an extended period, SiC nanoparticles have been prepared by several methods that usually performed at high temperatures ranging from 1200 - 2000 °C from inexpensive commercial precursors. In this work, we prepared SiC nanoparticles from the low priced precursor of Indonesia natural resource using the sonochemical method at a temperature that is lower than 1000 °C. To produce samples with particular characters, we varied the sintering holding time (1, 10, and 20 hours) and the sintering temperatures (850, 950, and 1050 °C) during the synthesis. The samples were then characterized using XRD, SEM-EDX, TEM, and FTIR. The XRD data analysis showed that the samples have a dominant phase of SiC in the form of β-SiC with a 3C-SiC structure and SiO2 phase in a low composition within a good agreement with the EDX characterization. Interestingly, the sample prepared at the sintering temperature of 850 °C for 1 hour showed a non-crystallite phase. Using a Scherer’s equation, the particles of the samples sized from 13 to 18 nm, which were validated by SEM and TEM images. Furthermore, the FT-IR spectra presented several peaks, i.e., at wavenumbers of 482.2 and 1150 cm-1 representing Si-O-Si bonding and also at 798.5 cm-1 regarding with Si-C bonding.