We report on the formation kinetics and the metal-mediated structuring in nanoregions of silicide and carbon containing interlayers in SiC-based materials. The silicide formation and the graphite texturisation are determined by complex reactive diffusion processes. High resolution and analytical electron microscopy evidenced a delta-Ni2Si growth with a < 5 0 (6) under bar > fibre texture in parallel orientation to the < 0 0 0 (1) under bar > direction of the SiC substrate. The oriented growth of graphitic regions in the silicide hints to a diffusion controlled carbon precipitation from the silicide supersaturated with carbon, explaining the observed orientation relationships between graphite and silicon carbide: perpendicular and parallel to the {0 0 0 1}. silicon carbide surfaces. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.