High purity and good dispersity AlN nanoparticles synthesized by an arc discharge with assistance of direct nitridation

Abstract The environmental–friendly synthesis of nanostructural aluminium nitride with high purity and good dispersity properites is regarded as a technical issue. In this paper, an arc discharge with assistance of direct nitridation has been put forward to synthesize aluminium nitride nanoparticles that simultaneously possess the high purity of more than 97%, the average particle size of 99.1 nm, and the specific surface area of 60.8 m2·g–1. Compared with the aluminium nitride prepared by direct nitridation of aluminium nanoparticles, the unique framework of the satellite structural and small-sized aluminium nanoparticles attached on larger-sized aluminium nitride nanoparticles is prepared by arc discharge, which can prevent effectively agglomeration and coalescence of aluminium nitride nanoparticles in the next nitridation process. In addition, the direct nitridation process requires a low temperature of 600 °C for 2 h, because the nonstructural aluminum particles are evenly distributed on the surface of aluminum nitride and process the low average diameter of 40 nm. The work provides an efficient technique to open up the possibility of technological advancement for preparing metal nitride nanoparticles with high purity and good dispersity.