Solid-state metasynthesis and characterization of AlN nanocrystals

Hexagonal AlN nanocrystals were synthesized successfully from solid-state metathesis reactions by using Mg3N2 as the nitriding sources at the temperature of 500 °C. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffractions, Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy respectively. The results show that the obtained samples are pure hexagonal AlN with a grain size less than 10 nm.