doiSerbia

Preparation of nanosized non-oxide powders using diatomaceous earth

Šaponjić A. ('Vinča' Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Materials Science Lab, Belgrade)
Babić B. ('Vinča' Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Materials Science Lab, Belgrade)
Devečerski A. ('Vinča' Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Materials Science Lab, Belgrade)
Matović B. ('Vinča' Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Materials Science Lab, Belgrade)

In this paper the nanosized non-oxide powders were prepared by carbothermal reduction and subsequent nitridation of diatomaceous earth which is a waste product from coal exploitation. Our scope was to investigate the potential use of diatomaceous earth as a main precursor for low-cost nanosized non-oxide powder preparation as well as to solve an environmental problem. The influence of carbon materials (carbonized sucrose, carbon cryogel and carbon black) as a reducing agent on synthesis and properties of low-cost nanosized nonoxide powders was also studied. The powders were characterized by specific surface area, X-ray and SEM investigations. It was found that by using diatomaceous earth it is was possible to produce either a mixture of non-oxide powders (Si3N4/SiC) or pure SiC powders depending on temperature.

Keywords: gas-solid reactions, microstructure, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy