Transition metal nitrides have a variety of properties including electrochemical stability and hardness that make them useful in many different settings. For example, transition metal nitrides can be used as catalysts in fuel cells as well as in optical coating for solar concentrating mirrors and as superconductors. The binary nitride, NbN, is superconducting at 17 K and all known superconductors are only superconducting well below room temperature. Superconductors have many practical uses including their use as a material in cell phone base stations, maglev trains, and MRI machines among other things. Ternary and quaternary niobium nitrides were synthesized by incorporating MoN, GaN, TiN, HfN, TaN with other alkaline earth and transition metals. Starting materials were combined in an argon-filled glove box, heated at 750-900 °C in niobium tubes for 140-240 hours, then cooled slowly. Nitrides are air sensitive, so they were handled carefully avoiding all oxygen. To further ensure that no oxygen came into contact with the niobium tubes, they were sealed inside of larger quartz tubes under vacuum. In addition to the metal nitrides, sodium azide was added; it dissociated into sodium metal and nitrogen gas during heating. The increase in pressure led to the formation of nitride crystals which were examined and characterized using single crystal X-ray diffraction.

Synthesis and characterization of new transition metal nitrides

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