Synthesis of nanocrystalline gallium nitride in silica aerogels

Abstract

Nanocrystals of gallium nitride were synthesized in silica aerogel host matrices by pyrolysis of dimeric dimethylgallium-diphenylamide precursor sequestered in the nanometer scale aerogel pores. Powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) and selected area electron-diffraction results verify the formation of hexagonal gallium nitride material in the aerogels, and Scherrer-broadening analysis of the XRD data indicate the gallium nitride particle size is ∼20 nm. Transmission electron microscopy results show that the gallium nitride nanoparticles have diameters between 10 and 40 nm with an average diameter of 23 nm. The synthesis parameters for the gallium nitride nanocrystals in the aerogel hosts are discussed.