Silicon carbide

About Silicon carbide:

• It is 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:
  • It is the hardest ceramic material and has excellent thermal conductivity but 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:
  • 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 also used in semiconducting substrates for light-emitting diodes.