In situ controlled growth of titanium nitride in amorphous silicon nitride: a general route toward bulk nitride nanocomposites with very high hardness.

Bechelany, Mirna Chaker; Proust, Vanessa; Gervais, Christel; Ghisleni, Rudy; Bernard, Samuel; Miele, Philippe · Adv Mater · 2014

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Bulk nanocomposites possessing very high hardness in which TiN nanocrystallites are homogeneously embedded in an amorphous Si3N4 matrix are produced from perhydropolysilazane and tetrakisdimethylaminotitanium. That is, a low-molecular-weight TiN molecule is mixed in controlled molar ratio with a polymeric Si3N4 precursor; further processing, including ammonolysis, warm pressing, and controlled nanocrystal growth, yields nanocomposites with the desired properties.