Alpha silicon carbide (alpha-SiC) powder was comminuted in planetary mill during ½, 2, 4 and 6 h. The rotation speed was 300 rpm, the medium of milling was isopropyl alcohol and the grinding bodies were spheres of ceria-stabilized zirconia. The milling powders were characterized concerning the size and particle size distribution, the chemical composition, the crystalline phases, and morphology. A large reduction of the particle size, that had changed from micrometrics to submicrometrics and even nanometrics, a change of their distribution from bimodal to unimodal, and the generation of secondary aditivation caused by medium of milling were observed.
milling; nanopowders; SiC; secondary activation