Homogeneous dispersion of gallium nitride nanoparticles in a boron nitride matrix by nitridation with urea

A Gallium Nitride (GaN) dispersed boron nitride (BN) nanocomposite powder was synthesized by heating a mixture of gallium nitrate, boric acid, and urea in a hydrogen atmosphere. Before heat treatment, crystalline phases of urea, boric acid, and gallium nitrate were recognized, but an amorphous material was produced by heat treatment at 400 degrees C, and then was transformed into GaN and turbostratic BN (t-BN) by further heat treatment at 800 degrees C. TEM obsevations of this composite powder revealed that single nanosized GaN particles were homogeneously dispersed in a BN matrix. Homogeneous dispersion of GaN nanoparticles was thought to be attained by simultaneously nitriding gallium nitrate and boric acid to GaN and BN with urea.