23 Facts About Silicon carbide

1.

Silicon carbide, known as carborundum, is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon.

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2.

Grains of silicon carbide can be bonded together by sintering to form very hard ceramics that are widely used in applications requiring high endurance, such as car brakes, car clutches and ceramic plates in bulletproof vests.

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3.

Large single crystals of silicon carbide can be grown by the Lely method and they can be cut into gems known as synthetic moissanite.

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4.

Virtually all the silicon carbide sold in the world, including moissanite jewels, is synthetic.

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5.

The silicon carbide found in space and in meteorites is almost exclusively the beta-polymorph.

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6.

Silicon carbide called the blue crystals that formed carborundum, believing it to be a new compound of carbon and aluminium, similar to corundum.

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7.

Silicon carbide is used as an abrasive, as well as a semiconductor and diamond simulant of gem quality.

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8.

Silicon carbide materials obtained through the pyrolysis of preceramic polymers are known as polymer derived ceramics or PDCs.

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9.

Silicon carbide is a semiconductor, which can be doped n-type by nitrogen or phosphorus and p-type by beryllium, boron, aluminium, or gallium.

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10.

Particles of silicon carbide are laminated to paper to create sandpapers and the grip tape on skateboards.

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11.

Silicon carbide is used as a support and shelving material in high temperature kilns such as for firing ceramics, glass fusing, or glass casting.

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12.

Silicon carbide-infiltrated carbon-carbon composite is used for high performance "ceramic" brake disks, as they are able to withstand extreme temperatures.

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13.

Silicon carbide is used in a sintered form for diesel particulate filters.

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14.

Silicon carbide fibers are used to measure gas temperatures in an optical technique called thin filament pyrometry.

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15.

Silicon carbide offered increased operating temperatures compared with metallic heaters.

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16.

Silicon carbide elements are used today in the melting of glass and non-ferrous metal, heat treatment of metals, float glass production, production of ceramics and electronics components, igniters in pilot lights for gas heaters, etc.

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17.

Silicon carbide is an important material in TRISO-coated fuel particles, the type of nuclear fuel found in high temperature gas cooled reactors such as the Pebble Bed Reactor.

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18.

Silicon carbide, dissolved in a basic oxygen furnace used for making steel, acts as a fuel.

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19.

Silicon carbide is cheaper than a combination of ferrosilicon and carbon, produces cleaner steel and lower emissions due to low levels of trace elements, has a low gas content, and does not lower the temperature of steel.

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20.

Silicon carbide is used in carborundum printmaking – a collagraph printmaking technique.

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21.

Silicon carbide can be used in the production of graphene because of its chemical properties that promote the epitaxial production of graphene on the surface of SiC nanostructures.

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22.

One well known point defect in silicon carbide is the divacancy which has a similar electronic structure as the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond.

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23.

Silicon carbide is used in the manufacturing of fishing guides because of its durability and wear resistance.

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