Tuning the Properties of Nitride-Phosphides by Chemical Control

含有间隙原子的化合物具有巨大的技术重要性。将小半径的原子引入金属原子阵列内的孔（空隙）中对主体金属的性质（例如硬度和导电性）具有深远的影响。例如，钢的硬度和强度是由于铁内的间隙碳原子，类似地，氮化钛（TiN）由于间隙氮原子赋予的硬度和耐腐蚀性而广泛用于牙科和医疗植入物。间隙磷化物具有工业和学术重要性，例如，NiMoP已被研究为电子学中Cu的扩散阻挡层和种子层，CrNiP是巡回铁磁体。目前还没有合成混合间隙氮化物-磷化物化合物的通用方案。在该提案中，要求为过渡金属氮化物磷化物的合成和结构及磁性表征提供资金，这些氮化物磷化物具有作为硬质材料、多相催化剂和永磁体的潜在应用。所提出的合成将给出对金属化学计量和间隙计数的控制。这代表了对以前的方法的进步，因为通过密切控制金属化学计量和间隙计数来调节物理性质的潜力。

Compounds that contain interstitial atoms have an enormous technological importance. The introduction of atoms of small radius into holes (interstices) within an array of metal atoms has a profound effect on the host metal properties such as hardness and electrical conductivity. For example, the hardness and strength of steel are due to the interstitial carbon atoms within iron, similarly titanium nitride (TiN) is widely used in dental and medical implants due to the hardness and corrosion resistance imparted by the interstitial nitrogen atoms. Interstitial phosphides have properties with industrial and academic importance, for example, NiMoP has been studied as a diffusion barrier and seed layer for Cu in electronics and CrNiP is an itinerant ferromagnet. At present no general protocol exists for the synthesis of mixed interstitial nitride-phosphide compounds. In this proposal, funding is requested for the synthesis and structural and magnetic characterisation of transition metal nitride phosphides that have potential applications as hard materials, heterogeneous catalysts, and permanent magnets. The proposed synthesis will give control over metal stoichiometry and interstitial count. This represents an advance on previous methods because of the potential for tuning of physical properties both by intimate control of the metal stoichiometry and by interstitial count.