Thermal oxidation under oxygen of zirconium nitride studied by XPS, DRIFTS, TG-MS

The studies of oxidation of nitrides or oxynitrides compounds are important since their electrical, thermal, catalytical and reactional properties are drastically modified by the oxidation layer encountered on top of these ceramics. In this paper we present the thermal oxidation of ZrN under O-2, in order to have a better understanding of the intermediate species encountered during the reaction, in the frame of low temperature nitridation of ceramics. The analysis of gas reaction products during oxidation and the confrontation of XPS and DRIFTS results on partially oxidized samples allow to evidence the formation of a stable Zr-N-N-O-Zr intermediate. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Limited. All rights reserved.