Preparation of carbon nitride fine powder by laser induced gas-phase reactions

We present the possibility of carbon nitride fine powder synthesis by sensitized laser pyrolysis of acethylene/nitrous oxide/ammonia mixtures. The powders were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and IR transmission measurements. It was found that nitrogen was incorporated in powders and that in the carbon-nitrogen phases formed, the presence of the triple bonded C=N was not detected. The majority of X-ray diffraction data suggests the presence of a mixture of the predicted alpha- and beta-C3N4 Structure, with an alpha-C3N4-like form being prevalent. The powders were found to be slightly contaminated by SF6 sensitizer products. Our results suggest that by improving the experimental parameters this contamination might be reduced and that the laser pyrolysis method offers possibilities for production of CxNy materials, with controlled composition.