Carbothermal Synthesis of Nanocrystalline Aluminum Nitride Powders

A new precursor technique for the carbothermal synthesis of nanocrystalline AlN powder has been developed. A precursor that contains an intimate mixture of nanocrystalline Al 2 O 3 and carbon has been synthesized by using a chemical pyrophoric reaction. The formation of AlN starts at 1473 K, and complete conversion has been observed at temperatures >1673 K. The synthesized AlN particles are nanocrystalline (<100 nm) in size.