Silicon Carbide Formula

Silicon carbide (SiC), chemical formula SiC, is an extremely hard (9 on Mohs scale), synthetically produced crystalline compound composed of silicon and carbon. Usually appearing bluish-black with an iridescence effect.

Industrially produced by mixing silica with carbon under high temperature electric furnace conditions, silica carbide also occurs naturally as moissanite mineral in very small quantities.

Physical Properties

Silicon carbide (abbreviated SiC) is an extremely hard synthetically produced crystalline compound of silicon and carbon that is known for its durability and high melting point. Since the late 19th century, SiC has been utilized as an abrasive material in making sandpaper, grinding wheels and cutting tools; more recently it has also become widely utilized for hard ceramic production, hard refractory linings for industrial furnaces, high temperature bricks for high temperature environments, wear resistant parts in pumps and rocket engines as well as semiconducting substrates used to manufacture light emitting diodes (LED).

Solid form, it takes the form of a yellow to green to bluish black, iridescent crystal with a sublimation temperature of 2700 degC and insoluble with most liquids, including water and most acids/alkalis/molten salts. Furthermore, its thermal shock resistance is very low while thermal expansion rates remain minimal.

Silicon carbide is an ideal material for manufacturing the refractory plates of heat exchangers used to process hot chemical solutions, such as highly concentrated sulphuric acid or sodium hydroxide solution, due to its excellent thermal conductivity and ability to withstand extreme temperatures during these processes. Furthermore, silicon carbide provides rapid heat transfer due to its quick heat conduction.

Chemical Properties

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an artificial, synthetic crystalline material with many uses. It features high melting point, density, and tetrahedral crystal structure with hues ranging from yellow-green hues to bluish-black iridescent crystals.

Hard and chemical resistant in extreme temperatures and environments, diamond is a popular abrasive material used for industrial grinding and machining operations as well as being widely utilized in refractory linings and the production of ceramics and semiconductor electronics.

Moissanite gems can be found naturally in some meteorites and corundum deposits, while most SiC is produced as an industrial product. Alpha SiC is most often encountered as its most prevalent polymorph, featuring hexagonal crystal structure (similar to Wurtzite). Beta modification with zinc blende crystal structure was once seldom utilized commercially until recently when its zinc blende structure made it suitable as support material for heterogeneous catalysts due to having higher surface area than alpha form.

Mechanical Properties

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an extremely hard, refractory ceramic material with exceptional strength and corrosion resistance, capable of withstanding very high temperatures without degrading. Furthermore, SiC exhibits excellent thermal conductivity and limited thermal expansion and remains resistant to most acids or alkalis as well as molten salts.

SiC is a wide bandgap semiconductor; this means it requires more energy to shift electrons into its conduction band than silicon, permitting higher switching frequencies and more efficient power conversion. SiC can be doped with nitrogen or phosphorus for n-type characteristics and with boron, gallium or aluminium for p-type capabilities.

Production methods vary, from coarse and fine-grained powders, paste, or hard gel, extrusion molding into solid shapes by extrusion and cold isostatic pressing, through Lely method growth of single crystals for gem cutting known as synthetic moissanite gems, but most material produced is used industrially.

Thermal Properties

Silicon carbide can withstand high temperatures and corrosion while remaining chemically inert; this allows it to withstand acids, alkalis and salts without adverse effect.

Material Description: Silicon carbide is an insulator but can be modified to exhibit semiconductivity by controlled doping, offering wide bandgap properties ideal for semiconductor applications.

Industrial silicon carbide production begins by heating pure silica (SiO2) quartz sand and ground petroleum coke to an extremely high temperature using electric resistance furnaces, leading to two polytypes – alpha and beta. A-SiC is the more common of the two with hexagonal crystal structures similar to wurtzite; while b-SiC features zinc blende crystal structures similar to diamond.

Both forms have many uses; these substances can be found in grinding, honing and sandblasting processes as well as coating tools like drills for cutting processes. Furthermore, both forms are commonly found in modern sporting goods like skateboards and grip tape, and used as refractory materials for furnaces as well as ceramic components of gas turbines.