Overview
Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (/ˌkɑːrbəˈrʌndəm/), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon
Natural occurrence
Naturally occurring moissanite is found in only minute quantities in certain types of meteorite, corundum deposits, and kimberlite
Production
Because natural moissanite is extremely scarce, most silicon carbide is synthetic. Silicon carbide is used as an abrasive
Uses
In the arts, silicon carbide is a popular abrasive in modern lapidary due to the durability and low cost of the material. In manufacturing
Silicon carbide has a
layered crystal structure which occurs in a number of different forms or polytypes. Composed of carbon and silicon, in equal amounts, each atom is bonded to four atoms of the opposite type in a tetrahedral bonding configuration.At the atomic level, silicon carbide crystals are composed of many flat layers arranged one on top of each other. Each layer resembles a honeycomb: it consists of
hexagonal cells in which the silicon carbide molecules are located vertically in the corners. Each two adjacent layers can be combined in three ways.
Alpha silicon carbide (α-SiC) is the most commonly encountered polymorph, and is formed at temperatures greater than 1700 °C and has a hexagonal crystal structure (similar to Wurtzite ). The beta modification (β-SiC), with a zinc blende crystal structure (similar to diamond ), is formed at temperatures below 1700 °C.
The crystalline forms of silicon carbide that most interest technological applications are alpha (α -SiC) and beta (β -SiC). Alpha has a
hexagonal structure, while beta has a face-centered cubic structure.Silicon carbide crystallises in a close packed structure covalently bonded to each other. The atoms are arranged so that two primary coordination
tetrahedral where four carbon and four silicon atoms are bonded to a central Si and C atoms are formed. These tetrahedra are linked together through their corners and stacked to form polar structures.