Controlled synthesis of tantalum oxynitride and nitride nanoparticles.
Synthesis of monodisperse metal nitride and oxynitride nanoparticles with a controllable chemical composition, size, and a well-defined morphology are useful for applications in fields of catalysis, optoelectronics, and electrochemistry. In this paper a novel method for the controllable synthesis of highly crystalline tantalum oxynitride and nitride nanoparticles with a relatively low polydispersity is presented using urea as the nitrogen source. In the presence of calcium ions as assisting agents, by simply varying the initial urea/Ta molar ratio, both the composition and size of the final product can be tailored to switch from TaON to Ta3 N5. The mechanism proposed is that Ca2+ slows down the release of NH3 from the decomposition of urea, which is indispensable for the controllable synthesis of oxynitride and nitride based nanoparticles.
Max-Planck-Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Colloid Chemistry, Research Campus Golm, Am Mühlenberg, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany.
Qingsheng
Q
Gao
Cristina
C
Giordano
Markus
M
Antonietti
D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D017672:Nitrogen Compounds / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013635:Tantalum / Q000737:chemistry*; D013818:Thermogravimetry; D014508:Urea / Q000737:chemistry; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
D017672:Nitrogen Compounds; D013635:Tantalum; D014508:Urea; D002118:Calcium