Silicon carbide (CAS 409-21-2) is a hard material with a wide-bandgap. SiC has been conventionally used as an abrasive owing to its high hardness. Being a semiconductor, SiC extends its applications to electronic devices, including diodes and field-effect transistors. Nanosized SiC has emerged as a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries. A reversible lithium insertion capacity of about 1200 mAh/g over 200 cycles has been achieved with silicon carbide nanoparticles.
Silicon carbide has also found its application as an electrode material in supercapacitors, exhibiting a wide electrochemical stability window, superior mechanical strength, and remarkable resistance to extreme conditions. Nanosized SiC combined with carbon demonstrates a capacitance of 734 μF/cm2 at 10 mV/s and retains 86.6% of its capacitance after 20,000 cycles.