Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous silicon carbide

A modified sol-gel method is proposed for the preparation of mesoporous silicon carbide. In this method, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and phenolic resin are used for preparing a binary carbonaceous silicon xerogel, and nickel nitrate is employed in the sol-gel process as a pore-adjusting reagent. SiC was produced in the carbothermal reduction of the binary xerogel at 1250 degreesC in an argon flow (40 cm(3)min(-1)) and purified by removing excess silica, carbon and other impurities. The purified SiC sample was characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and N-2 adsorption, and the results showed that the SiC sample had a surface area of 112 m(2) g(-1) (BET) and an average pore diameter of about 10 nm. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.