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中的空穴(空隙)，对宿主金属的性能，如硬度和导电性有深远的影响。例如，钢的硬度和强度是由铁中的间隙碳原子造成的，同样，氮化钛(TiN)由于间隙氮原子赋予的硬度和耐腐蚀性而被广泛应用于牙科和医疗植入物。间隙磷化物具有重要的工业和学术价值，例如，NiMoP在电子学中被用作铜的扩散阻挡层和种子层，而CrNiP是巡回铁磁体。目前还没有用于合成混合间隙氮化物-磷化物化合物的通用方案。在这项提案中，要求为过渡金属氮化物磷化物的合成、结构和磁性表征提供资金，这些磷化物具有作为硬材料、多相催化剂和永磁体的潜在应用。建议的合成将控制金属的化学计量和间隙计数。这代表了以前方法的进步，因为可以通过密切控制金属化学计量和间隙计数来调节物理性质。

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.