Abstract
Silicon carbide (SiC) is an important ceramics for engineering and industrial applications due to its advantage to withstand in high temperatures. In this article, a demonstration of SiC nanowhiskers synthesis by using microwave heating has been shown. The mixtures of raw materials in the form of pellets were heated, using a laboratory microwave furnace, to 1400 °C for 40 minutes at a heating rate of 20 °C/min. The characterization process proved that the mixture of graphite and silica in the ratio of 1:3 is an ideal composition for synthesizing single phase β-SiC nanowhiskers. Vapor-solid mechanism was suggested to explain the formation of SiC nanowhiskers by the proposed microwave heating.