Polymer-derived nanostructured anti-perovskite non noble metal nitrides

Herein, we report the one-step design of a novel composition of nanocomposites made of an amorphous silicon nitride ('SiN') matrix with embedded anti-perovskite nitride Ni₃CuN nanoparticles (NPs). Such compounds are prepared from a metal-modified polysilazane (PSZ) synthesized by the controlled reaction of the PSZ itself as the matrix precursor and home-made transition-metal (TM) complexes (NiCl₂(py)₂, CuCl₂(py)₂) as precursors of the anti-perovskite phase. The pyrolysis of the metal-modified PSZ in flowing ammonia (NH₃) induced phase separation at low temperature (400 °C-600 °C), leading to the isolation of nanoscale Ni₃CuN particles homogeneously distributed in an amorphous SiN (a-SiN) matrix with a trimodal pore size distribution. The evolutive material has been characterized in detail to figure out the effect of the involved synthesis and pyrolysis mechanisms on the formation of these novel Ni₃CuN/a-SiN nanocomposites.