title: Ultralight, Strong, Three-Dimensional SiC Structures.
abstract: Ultralight and strong three-dimensional (3D) silicon carbide (SiC) structures have been generated by the carbothermal reduction of SiO with a graphene foam (GF). The resulting SiC foams have an average height of 2 mm and density ranging between 9 and 17 mg cm(-3). They are the lightest reported SiC structures. They consist of hollow struts made from ultrathin SiC flakes and long 1D SiC nanowires growing from the trusses, edges, and defect sites between layers. AFM results revealed an average flake thickness of 2-3 nm and lateral size of 2 μm. In-situ compression tests in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) show that, compared with most of the existing lightweight foams, the present 3D SiC exhibited superior compression strengths and significant recovery after compression strains of about 70%.
authors.affiliation: College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter , Exeter EX4 4QF, U.K.
authors.forename: Sakineh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chabi
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics, Department of Materials, Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Victoria G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics, Department of Materials, Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: García-Tuñón
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics, Department of Materials, Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferraro
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics, Department of Materials, Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Saiz
authors.affiliation: College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter , Exeter EX4 4QF, U.K.
authors.forename: Yongde
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter , Exeter EX4 4QF, U.K.
authors.forename: Yanqiu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
keywords: 2D SiC; recoverable ceramic; silicon carbide; three-dimensional; ultralight