Sol‐Gel‐Process in the Ammono‐System – a Novel Access to Silicon Based Nitrides

Controlled coammonolysis of elementalkylamides in aprotic organic solvents at low temperatures have been shown to result in the formation of polyazanes. The synthetic procedure developed may be addressed as “sol‐gel‐route in the ammono system”. Pyrolysis of these novel polymer precursors gave access to multinary nitrides. For the model systems Si(NHMe)₄/B(NMe₂)₃, Si(NHMe)₄/Ti(NMe₂)₄, and Si(NHMe)₄/Ta(NMe₂)₅ polymeric boro‐, titano and tantalosilazanes were obtained. Pyrolysis in ammonia at 1000 °C yielded amorphous silicon boron nitride, silicon titanium nitride and silicon tantalum nitride powders; further heating of the nitride powders at 1500 °C in nitrogen atmosphere led to the formation of partly crystalline composites of α‐Si₃N₄ and amorphous silicon boron nitride for the Si/B/N system, a composite of finely dispersed TiN and amorphous silicon titanium nitride for the Si/Ti/N system, and crystalline TaN and amorphous silicon nitride for the Si/Ta/N system. Furthermore, the structure and pyrolysis chemistry of the polymeric intermediates, as well as the morphology of the pyrolysis products, were studied by NMR, MAS‐NMR, FT‐IR, DTA‐TG‐MS, XRD, SEM, EDX and elemental analyses.     

Novel gold dendritic nanoflowers deposited on titanium nitride for photoelectrochemical cells

This study demonstrates the elaboration of a novel composite comprising gold dendritic nanoflowers (Au DNFs)/titanium nitride (TiN)/silicon (Si); this composite can be used for methanol oxidation reactions in alkaline electrolytes. Cyclic voltammograms showed that a thick (650 nm) Au DNFs/TiN/Si (L-DNFs-TiN) composite had double the oxidation current density of a thick (800 nm) Au DNFs/Si (L-DNFs-Si) composite in the presence of light illumination, whereas the oxidation current density for a thin (250 nm) Au DNFs/Si (S-DNFs-Si) composite and Au nanoparticles could not be determined. Chronoamperometry (CA) testing indicated that the L-DNFs-TiN could absorb light illumination more effectively than the L-DNFs-Si did. These results correspond to the broadband light absorption of TiN. Testing with continuous cyclic on/off light illumination showed a repeatable performance in CA, indicating that the proposed L-DNFs-TiN composite can be applied in photoelectrochemical cells in the future.     

Cathodoluminescence analysis of nonmetallic inclusions of nitrides in steel

Identification of nitride inclusions such as boron nitride (BN) and aluminum nitride (AlN) is important in the steelmaking industry because BN inclusions deteriorate the creep strength of ferritic heat-resistant steel, and AlN inclusions cause transverse cracking in twin-induced-plasticity steel. The conventional method employed for the analysis of such inclusions in steel comprises both optical microscopy and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), which is the time-consuming. The aim of this study is to investigate the application of cathodoluminescence (CL) analysis (both images and spectra) to the rapid identification of BN and AlN inclusions. Measurement samples were prepared by heating mixtures of 99 mass% Fe and 1 mass% B or Al powders at 1550°C in a nitrogen atmosphere. BN inclusions larger than 5 μm and AlN inclusions 20 μm in size were identified within 1 second on the basis of their luminescence color (blue-violet for BN and blue for AlN) in the CL images. We demonstrated that BN, AlN, and alumina inclusions could be identified from their CL spectra without the conventional method of EPMA. Capturing a CL image can provide a means of rapidly identifying BN and AlN inclusions in steel. We also carried out CL analysis on a sample containing TiN inclusions which can trigger cleavage fracture in low-carbon steels. No luminescence was detected in the CL image, and there were no CL spectral peaks, indicating that it is difficult to apply CL analysis to the identification of TiN inclusions.     

Low temperature induced synthesis of TiN nanocrystals

TiN nanocrystals were successfully prepared through the direct reaction between TiCl(4) and NaNH(2) induced at 300 degrees C. The yield based on Ti is approximately 80%. X-ray powder diffraction indicated that the product was cubic TiN with a lattice constant of a = 4.243 A. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that nanocrystalline TiN with a diameter of 10 nm or so and extremely long straight rods were synthesized. The possible formation mechanism was also proposed.     

Production and characterization of nitrided CVD-SiC films

Silicon Carbide (SiC) and SiC with free silicon [SiC(Si)] thin films were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using a CH₃SiCl₃-H₂-Ar gas mixture at a temperature of 1223 K. Afterwards these layers were gas nitrided in an ammonia-hydrogen-argon mixture at 1273 K. The solid product is an extremely thin film of silicon nitride on SiC or SiC(Si)-basic layers. These ultra thin silicon nitride films were investigated by glow discharge optical spectroscopy (GDOS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The thickness of the layers was determined to a maximum value of 30 nm.Dedicated to Professor Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h.c. Hubertus Nickel on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

Preparation and Electromagnetic Properties of Composites of Hollow Glass Microspheres Coated with NiFe2O4 Nanoparticles

"The composites of hollow glass microspheres coated with NiFe2O4 nanoparticles were prepared using polyacrylamide gel method. The structural characteristics, morphology and electromagnetic properties of the composite powders with different weight percent of glass microspheres (15%, 40%, and 65%) were obtained by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, infrared spectroscopy and HP8510 network analyzer. The results indicated that the phase structure of composite powders was the mixtures of nickel ferrite, quartz, and mullite. The peak intensity for nickel ferrite decreased rapidly and for mullite increased remarkably with the increasing amount of microspheres. A pure spinel structure of NiFe2O4 formed on the glass microspheres at 600 oC. A uniform and continuous NiFe2O4-coating was obtained when the content of microspheres was 40%. A great amount of NiFe2O4 particle size is less than 80 nm. The composite with a content of 40% microspheres exhibits better dielectric and magnetic loss properties which are useful to absorb more electromagnetic wave. It can be a kind of good and light electromagnetic wave absorbing material in the X-band."     

肼溶胶-凝胶法制备高比表面积纳米氮化钛粉体的研究

以无水肼作氮源, 采用肼溶胶-凝胶技术(HSG)成功地制备了TiN粉体, 研究了不同钛源、处理气氛及焙烧温度对TiN粉体晶化过程的影响, 并对其形成机理进行了讨论. 与氨气氮化法相比, 该方法所需温度低、TiN的粒径小、比表面积大, 并且分散均匀.     

镁热还原法制备圆片状氮化硼多晶微粉

采用三氧化二硼(B₂O₃)、氯化铵(NH₄Cl)和镁粉为反应物, 以三氧化二铁(Fe₂O₃)为催化剂, 利用镁热还原法在700～850 ℃下反应, 制备了氮化硼多晶微粉. X射线衍射(XRD)分析表明, 产物为六方相, 晶格常数a=0.2499 nm, c=0.6682 nm. 产物的红外光谱中在790和1380 cm^-1处出现了六方氮化硼的特征吸收峰. 利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)观察到产物为圆片状颗粒, 平均直径约为0.9 μm, 平均厚度约为100 nm. 讨论了Fe2O3的存在对产物形成的影响.     

Deep Oxidation of Methane on a Pt/Si3N4 Catalyst

We have studied platinum catalysts supported on silicon nitride Si₃N₄ in the process of deep oxidation of methane. We have used transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to study the surface properties of the Pt/Si₃N₄ samples before and after the catalytic reaction. We have established that the metallic platinum particles in freshly prepared systems are characterized by average sizes of 1.7-5.3 nm, while after the catalytic reaction we observe formation of Pt crystallites up to 30-70 nm in size. We hypothesize that the observed deactivation of platinum catalysts in deep oxidation of methane is connected with crystallization of the metallic particles and their entrainment with the reaction products during catalysis.     

Charge referencing issues in XPS of insulators as evidenced in the case of Al‐Si‐N thin films

Accurate charge referencing in XPS of insulating specimens is a delicate issue. This difficulty is illustrated in the case of Al‐Si‐N composite thin films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering with variable composition from pure aluminum nitride to pure silicon nitride. The samples were mounted with Au‐coated metallic clamps. Argon sputter cleaning was required to remove a surface native oxide before analysis. For charge referencing implanted argon atoms from the sputter gas and a small amount of gold re‐deposited from the metallic clamps onto the specimen surface during sputter cleaning were evaluated. For the argon atoms, a surprisingly large chemical shift (～1 eV) and a significant peak broadening (0.6 eV) of the Ar 2p_3/2 photoelectron line were found with varying the Si content of the films. This could be related to chemical and structural changes of the Al‐Si‐N films. Hence implanted argon could not be used for charge referencing of Al‐Si‐N samples. In contrast to the implanted argon, the Au 4f_7/2 line width of the gold re‐deposited onto the sample surface did not depend on the Si content of Al‐Si‐N films. A constant energy shift (～1.2 eV) of the Au 4f_7/2 line as compared with bulk gold was, however, found, which was related to the size of gold particles formed on the insulating films. Therefore gold could be reliably used to study chemical shifts of sample‐relevant species in Al‐Si‐N films, but the absolute binding energies of Al 2p, Si 2p and N 1s photoelectrons could not be determined. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

无序介孔硅复合纳米结构的制备与慢活化行为

通过对SiO_2纳米粒子进行镁热还原及后处理,制备了多级无序Si介孔复合纳米结构MP-Si@SiO_x@C,此结构展现出容量非衰减缓升的电化学慢活化行为,可抵消循环容量常规衰减趋势,赋予负极优良的循环稳定性.通过X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、场发射扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、N_2吸附-脱附测试和孔径分布模拟分析发现,Si介孔组织包含微-窄介孔(1~5 nm)、中介孔(5~20 nm)以及大介孔-宏孔(20~100 nm)三级孔道,分别源于原初级粒子内部孔道、粒子团聚堆垛与粒内酸蚀、团聚体再堆垛;此合成装配方法有效提升了Si材料的堆积密度,电池电极能获得较高的体积比容量和储能密度.     

多重射流燃烧反应制备的TiO2/ SiO2纳米复合颗粒的形态和结构

TiO₂-SiO₂ nanocomposite particles were prepared in premixed H₂ / Air flame, and the morphology and structure of these nanocomposites were characterized by FTIR, XRD, TEM and HRTEM. The morphology of SiO₂ / TiO₂ nanocomposites was different from that of pure TiO₂ or SiO₂ nanoparticles, and the chemical bond of Ti-O-Si was found in the nanocomposites indicating that the TiO₂ / SiO₂ nanocomposites were not merely a physical mixture of TiO₂ and SiO₂. TiO₂ nanocrystalline grains with sizes of 1～2 nm were homogeneously dispersed in the amorphous SiO₂ matrix when TiCl₄ and SiCl₄ were mixed at molecular level in the flame. The particle size and rutile content decreased with increasing of SiO₂ molar ratio.     

Producing metallic titanium through electro-refining of titanium nitride anode

Titanium nitride (TiN) was used as consumable anode to produce metallic titanium in molten salts. The electrochemical dissolution of TiN was investigated. It was found that nitrogen (N₂) was monitored at the anode during electrolysis. The titanium ion species was changed between Ti^2 + and Ti^3 + depending on the electrochemically dissolving potentials of TiN. Furthermore, the product on the cathode was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that pure titanium powders can be prepared by the TiN electro-refining in a molten salt bath.     

氮化钛纳米线的结构特征及其对Ⅴ(Ⅱ)/Ⅴ(Ⅲ)的电极过程

Titanium nitride nanowires (TiN NWs) were directly prepared on a Ti foil by a hydrothermal method followed by nitridation in ammonia atmosphere. The composition, microstructure, and electrochemical properties of the TiN NWs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry(CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that the nanowires have diameters of 20-50 nm and are 5 μm long. The surfaces of the TiN NWs comprise Ti-N, Ti-O, and O-Ti-N chemical states. The electrochemical activity and reversibility for the electrode processes of Ⅴ(Ⅱ)/Ⅴ(Ⅲ) couple on the TiN NWs are significantly improved due to the introduced Ti-N, Ti-O, and O-Ti-N chemical states. The transfer resistance for the cathodic reduction of Ⅴ(Ⅲ) on the TiN NWs is about 20 times and 10 times smaller than on TiO₂ NWs and graphite electrodes, respectively. The rate constant of charge transfer on the TiN NWs electrode was determined to be 5.21×10^-4 cm·s_-1, which is about 5 times larger than the rate constant on graphite electrodes (9.63×10^-5 cm·s^-1).     

化学转化-气相色谱法测定氮化硅中的游离硅

建立了用化学转化－气相色谱法测定氮化硅中游离硅的分析方法。游离硅和氮化硅与熔融的氢化钠反应,排出氢,氨和少量二氧化碳和水蒸汽。吸收除去氨、二氧化碳和水蒸汽后,用热导检测器检测氢。方法简便,准确,平均回收率为９６％,相对标准偏差〈５％。     

金属钯纳米颗粒/氮化钛复合材料对水中2,4-二氯苯酚的电催化氢化脱氯（英文）

随着社会经济的快速发展,含氯有机物,特别是含氯苯系物,在农业、化工和医药等领域的使用量逐年增多,而使用过程中不合理的排放和控制致使含氯苯系物对生态环境,特别是水体环境的污染日趋严重.含氯苯系物具有高致毒致癌性,易生物富集,且很难被完全降解矿化,已被国家环保局认定为优先控制污染物.常规的废水处理工艺,如吸附、氧化及生物降解等,效率不高,且具有二次污染风险.电催化氢化脱氯技术是一种新型特别针对废水中含氯有机污染物的处理工艺,是通过在阴极电解还原水,原位生成原子态氢,以进攻苯环上C.Cl键,通过C.Cl键断裂H原子取代,使含氯苯系物完全转化为苯系物,达到去毒去害化的目的,近年来越来越受到研究者的关注.在整个电催化氢化脱氯技术中,高效稳定的电催化剂合成是关键,决定着脱氯效率、脱氯动力学、产物选择性及能量的利用率.本文报道了一种简易、无需添加任何表面活性剂的湿式还原法制备金属钯/氮化钛(Pd/TiN)和金属钯/碳(Pd/C)复合材料.在该复合材料中,金属钯颗粒具有均一的纳米尺寸(约5.0 nm)和球状形貌,且均匀分布在TiN和C载体上.作为针对水体中代表性含氯苯系物2,4-二氯苯酚的电催化氢化脱氯反应催化剂,Pd/TiN所展现的活性和稳定性均优于TiN和Pd/C,这源于TiN载体的促进作用.当TiN与Pd复合时,相应形成的Pd-TiN界面可改变Pd表面的电子结构,进一步优化Pd产活性氢及其吸附活化2,4-二氯苯酚的性能,因而其催化氢化脱氯活性增加.阴极工作电压是该催化反应中一个重要操作参数,决定了电催化氢化脱氯的效率和最终产物的构成.实验表明,.0.80 V vs Ag/AgCl是最佳操作电压,此时2,4-二氯苯酚的电催化氢化脱氯效率最高,可达到93.27%,且可实现最大程度的2,4-二氯苯酚向苯酚转化.脱氯反应路径研究发现,在Pd/TiN催化剂上2,4-二氯苯酚脱氯反应路径为2,4-二氯苯酚→对位一氯苯酚,邻位一氯苯酚→苯酚,但Pd/TiN对邻位和对位的C.Cl键断裂基本没有选择性.本文提供了一种新的有效调控Pd材料电催化氢化脱氯性能的方法,可望用于其他氢化反应体系的高效催化剂的设计合成,同时可推动电催化氢化脱氯技术在环境污染修复中的应用.     

g-C3N4/BiVO4复合催化剂的制备及应用于光催化还原CO2的性能

用简单的超声分散法合成了具有可见光响应的类石墨氮化碳(g-C₃N₄)/BiVO₄复合光催化剂. 采用X射线衍射(XRD), X射线光电子能谱(XPS), 扫描电子显微镜(SEM), 透射电子显微镜(TEM), 紫外-可见(UV-Vis)分光光谱, 傅里叶红外变换(FTIR)光谱, 荧光发射谱(PL)和光电流响应等技术对所制备催化剂进行相关表征. 通过可见光下(λ> 420 nm)光催化还原CO₂的性能来评价样品的光催化活性, 发现不同复合比的催化剂中, 含40% (w) g-C₃N₄的复合催化剂表现出最高的光催化活性, 其催化活性分别为纯g-C₃N₄纳米片和纯BiVO₄的催化活性的2倍和4倍.光催化活性增加的主要原因是g-C₃N₄和BiVO₄之间形成了异质结, 且相互间能级匹配, 有利于光生电子和空穴的分离.     

Kinetic studies of the reactions between silicon nitride and carbon

The reactions between silicon nitride and carbon take place in two stages, the surface silica of silicon nitride powders reacts with carbon first followed by the decomposition of silicon nitride and the residual silicon reacting with carbon. The kinetics of the two stage reactions has been studied by isothermal thermogravimetric analysis. Physico-geometric models for both of the reaction stages have been proposed, and the kinetic parameters have been calculated. The implications of the kinetic models and parameters are discussed.     

Thermochemistry of thermal plasma chemical reactions. Part II. A survey of synthesis routes for silicon nitride production

Feasibility routes for thermal plasma production of silicon nitride powders are explored. First, a collation of the various proposed systems from the extant literature is examined. Reactant systems investigated include free silicon, silicon monoxide, silicon dioxide, silicon tetrachloride, silane, and other organosilicon precursors, along with various nitriding and reducing species. The reaction yields of these systems are brought to a common denominator by thermodynamic analysis and a first-step introduction of nucleation kinetics including comparisons against published experiments and the authors' own research. In particular, it is observed that the formation of liquid-phase free silicon in the neighborhood of 2500 K is quite detrimental to silicon nitride yield, and furthermore, a high supersaturation of silicon should always be avoided.     

Low-temperature mechanochemical synthesis of nanosized silicon carbide

The methods of X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, synchronous thermal analysis, and adsorption are used to study the mechanochemical synthesis of silicon carbide through the reaction Si + C → β-SiC. The reaction is found to take place in several stages. At the first stage, i.e., at activation doses below approximately 5 kJ/g, the powders of the components are independently ground to increase the specific surface area of the mixture to 145 m²/g, graphite is amorphized, and the sizes of the coherent-scattering regions of silicon drastically diminish. At the second stage (doses of 5–15 kJ/g), dense Si/C aggregates are formed and two fractions (coarse and fine) with different particle sizes arise in silicon crystallites. As the activation dose is enhanced, the amount of the fine fraction rises, while the sizes of coherent-scattering regions decrease to 2–3 nm. When samples are heated at 800°C, the fine fraction of silicon interacts with carbon to yield silicon carbide with crystallite sizes of 3–4 nm, whereas the coarse fraction of silicon recrystallizes. At the third stage, i.e., at doses of higher than 15 kJ/g, the mechanochemical synthesis of SiC occurs through the following scheme: fine fraction Si + C → amorphous SiC → crystallization of SiC.