Low temperature<i>in situ</i>formation of cobalt in silicon nitride toward functional nitride nanocomposites
Shotaro Tada, Maíra Debarba Mallmann, Haruna Takagi, Junya Iihama, Norifumi Asakuma, Toru Asaka, Yusuke Daiko, Sawao Honda, Rafael Kenji Nishihora, Ricardo Antônio Francisco Machado, Samuel Bernard, Yuji Iwamoto
Abstract
This work highlights the first demonstration of a low-temperature in situ formation of Co nanocrystallites embedded within an amorphous silicon nitride matrix through careful control of the chemistry behind material design using perhydropolysilazane (PHPS) as a Si3N4 precursor further coordinated with CoCl2 and ammonia as a pyrolysis atmosphere. The Co nucleation was allowed to proceed at temperatures as low as 400 °C via thermal decomposition of Co2N pre-formed in situ by the reaction of CoCl2 with the Si centers of PHPS at the early stage of pyrolysis (220-350 °C).