title: Low-temperature approach to synthesize iron nitride from amorphous iron.
abstract: Iron nitride was prepared by a nitridation reaction in NH 3 using amorphous iron as precursor. The precursor was prepared at ambient temperature through the process of reducing ferrous sulfate by potassium borohydride, followed by the nitridation at different temperatures. The nitridation reaction occurred at 548 K, and -Fe 2-3N was formed at 573 K. The reaction temperature was much lower than that using crystallized iron because of the characteristics of the amorphous materials. The existence of a small quantity of boron (1.6 wt.%) improved the stability of the amorphous precursor, which guaranteed an amorphous iron precursor at nitriding temperatures in excess of 548 K.
authors.affiliation: Institute of New Catalytic Materials Science, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Huamin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Minghui
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Keyi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tao