Thermal Analysis on the Amorphous Carbon Nitride Prepared by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

The differential thermal analysis-thermogravimetry-mass spectroscopy (DTA-TG-MS) study on the thermal stability of CN x prepared by magnetron sputtering was carried out under Ar atmosphere. The results show that the decomposition process could be divided into two stages. One spans from room temperature (RT) to 800°C. The nitrogen loss as well as the weight loss in the a-CN x could be attributed to the evaporation of C + (m/z=12), CN + (m/z=26), O 2 + (m/z=32), CO 2 + (m/z=44), NO 2 + (m/z=46), and C 2 N 2 + (m/z=52), as detected by mass spectroscopy. The other is above 800°C, during which the breakage of C–N bonds and the oxidation of C and N mainly accounts for the weight loss. The weight loss of a-CN x is 7% for the first stage and 42.8% for the second, suggesting the a-CN x to be more stable at low temperature.