Nano-Structures and Properties of Zinc Nitride Prepared by Nitridation Technique

This paper reports that Zn3N2 powders of high quality have been synthesized by nitridation reaction of Zn powders with NH3 gas in 500 ml/min at a nitridation temperature of 600 DGC for 120 min. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates that Zn3N2 powder has a cubic structure with lattice constants a=9.788 A. Observations through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) show that Zn3N2 powder is of nanowire structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) tells the differences of chemical bonding states between Zn3N2, and ZnO, and confirms the formation of N-Zn bonds.