Large-scale synthesis of single-phase,high-quality GaN nanocrystallites

Large-scale synthesis of high-quality GaN nano-crystallites has been achieved by direct reaction of a 4:1 molar Ga/Ga₂O₃ mixture with ammonia at 950 °C. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, selected-area electron diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed that the produced GaN nanocrystallites were single hexagonal wurtzite structure with an average particle size around 45 nm. A sharp near band edge emission peak and a blue light emission peak were observed in photoluminescence spectroscopy. The synthesis approach is simple and easy to be commercialized. PACS 61.46.+w; 81.15.Gh; 81.05.Ea