Silicon Carbide

Silicon Carbide Latest News

Researchers at IIT-Madras have tasted success in extracting silicon carbide from (simulated) moon soil.

About Silicon Carbide

• It is a synthetically produced crystalline compound of silicon and carbon.
• Its chemical formula is SiC and it is the most widely used non-oxide ceramic.
• It was discovered by the American inventor Edward G. Acheson in 1891. 

Properties of Silicon Carbide

• It is the hardest ceramic material and has excellent thermal conductivity, low thermal expansion.
• It has excellent mechanical properties, and excellent resistance to wear and oxidation.
• It is also classed as a semiconductor, having an electrical conductivity between that of metals and insulating materials.

Applications of Silicon Carbide

• Its primary application is as an abrasive because of its high hardness, which is surpassed only by diamond, cubic boron nitride, and boron carbide.
• It is a promising ceramic material with excellent thermo mechanical characteristics.
• It is used in refractory linings and heating elements for industrial furnaces, in wear-resistant parts for pumps and rocket engines.
• It is used in semiconducting substrates for light-emitting diodes.

Silicon Carbide FAQs

Q1: What is silicon carbide used for?

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

Q2: What is the common name for silicon carbide?

Ans: Carborundum

Q3: When was silicon carbide invented?

Ans: Silicon carbide was discovered by the American inventor Edward G. Acheson in 1891.

Q4: What is the benefit of silicon carbide?

Ans: Higher temperature capability,

Q5: Why is silicon carbide better than silicon?

Ans: SiC has a much higher breakdown electric field compared to silicon.

Source: THBL