A Cheaper and Greener Approach for the Synthesis of Highly Pure Silicon Carbide Composites Using Coffee Husk Wastes

The extensive use of silicon carbide in many fields such as in abrasives, structural materials, refractories, electronic components, and nuclear reactors amongst others demands for an innovative, cheaper, and an environmentally friendly approach for its synthesis. The aim of the study was to use coffee husk wastes as silica and carbon sources in SiC synthesis. This was done via carbothermal reduction synthetic route using the extracted silica and biochar materials at a temperature of 300 oC for 12 hours. The silica, biochar, and SiC composites were characterized using XRF, FT-IR, XRD, SEM, and EDX. The results for silica showed spherical-shaped granules with Si and O components. The biochar showed a highly amorphous carbon structure with silica and carbon contents. The FT-IR, SEM, and EDX results revealed macron sized SiC composites with Si (59.3 %) and C (28.7 %) components. This cheaper and greener approach makes coffee husk wastes a novel material for the synthesis of highly pure Silicon Carbide (SiC) composites for application in various industrial fields.