Facile route to metal nitrides through melamine and metal oxides

Highly efficient and facile routes are still needed to meet the increasing demand on nitrides in a variety of applications although so far some preparative routes already exist. We have extended the solid-state metathesis (SSM) method by choosing an organic compound, melamine, and oxides as precursors, which allows us to develop a relatively general and facile route to nitrides. Whereby, eight technologically important nitrides including hexagonal GaN and cubic TiN were synthesized in sealed ampoules. These reactions are dynamically facilitated by the formation of numerous interfaces between finely-divided oxide grains and gas phases with high reactivity in an intermediate stage under heating temperatures. It is found that both hydrogen and carbon reductions are involved in the reactions, thermodynamically enhancing the nitride formation process. Our results demonstrate that the reactions between an organic compound and oxides offer an attractive preparative route to nitrides in terms of the wide availability of reagents, high yield and relative generality.