It was named after the first discovery by French chemist Henri Moissan (1852 ~ 1907) in 1893. Natural silicon carbide is extremely rare in nature. It has only been found in some meteorites and ultrabasic rocks (such as K-Mg lamprophyre and Kimberlite), and the size and quantity of the mined crystals are not enough to be used as jewelry. Therefore, mosan stone on the market is basically synthesized in the laboratory.
Silicon carbide is a superhard material with a hardness of 9.25, which is slightly lower than that of diamond. The refractive index is slightly higher than that of diamond (2.648 ~ 2.69 1), and the dispersion is good (0. 104). Compared with other materials, its thermal conductivity is 2.3-4.9 W/k cm, which is close to 26 W/k cm of diamond. Synthetic silicon carbide is considered as a good substitute for diamonds, because its price is one tenth of that of diamonds.
Silicon carbide crystals and films have many industrial applications. Large-particle silicon carbide single crystal can be used to produce jewelry (imitation diamond), which is mainly produced by American jeweler Charles &: Colvard sales, and its patent expires on 20 16.
Mosan stone used in jewelry is very similar to diamond in appearance and weight. As early as 1997, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has regarded Mosan stone as a new kind of diamond "substitute". GIA's gemstone identification certificate will indicate that its gemstone category is moissanite (Synthetic moissanite) grown in the laboratory.
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use
Moss stone is not only used as decorative jewelry, but also can be used as a substitute for industrial diamond in high pressure test because of its high hardness and low cost. Because the thermal conductivity of mosan stone is similar to that of diamond, it can also be used in electronic and thermal equipment, such as engine protection circuits, actuators and energy storage systems. At the same time, mosan stone has thermoluminescence, so it is also very useful in measuring radioactive dose.
In addition, silicon carbide emery is also widely used in industrial grinding and cutting, manufacturing bulletproof plates in composite armor and individual armor, mirror materials for astronomical telescopes, carriers for generating graphene, traction converter devices for railway vehicles, etc.