Graphitization of α-Silicon Carbide

IN the course of a comprehensive investigation in these laboratories of the mechanisms by which carbon-containing inorganic and organic materials are converted to graphite, the structural changes which occur when single crystals of α-silicon carbide (6H) are heated in vacuo have been studied. Euler and Czerlinsky1 and Mohun2 have recently examined the high-temperature decomposition of silicon carbide by chlorination. In both investigations the residue was found to be amorphous carbon, which showed no structural relationship to the original silicon carbide. It has been stated by Busch3 that silicon carbide converts to graphite on heating to 2,000° C. in vacuum, but no structural studies of this decomposition have been reported.