Plasma-assisted synthesis of platinum nitride nanoparticles under HPHT: Realized by carbon-encapsulated ultrafine PT nanoparticles

Abstract

Noble metal nitrides (NMNs) have important theoretical significance and potential application prospects due to their high bulk modulus and remarkable electrical properties. However, NMNs can only be synthesized under extreme conditions of ultrahigh pressure and temperature, and nanoscaled NMNs have not been reported. In this work, as typical NMNs, PtNx nanoparticles were synthesized at 5 GPa and 750 K by the method of plasma-assisted laser-heating diamond anvil cell. The significantly reduced synthesis condition benefited from the ingenious design of the precursor and the remarkable chemical activity of the ultrafine Pt nanoparticles. This study, combining nanomaterials with high-pressure and-temperature (HPHT) techniques, provides a novel process for the preparation of NMN nanomaterials, and a new direction for the synthesis of superhard materials.