ZrN nanoparticles were prepared by an exothermic reduction of ZrCl4 with NaN3 in the presence of NaCl flux in a nitrogen atmosphere. Using a solid-state combustion approach, we have demonstrated that the zirconium nitride nanoparticles synthesis process can be completed in only several minutes compared with a few hours for previous synthesis approaches. The chemistry of the combustion process is not complex and is based on a metathesis reaction between ZrCl4 and NaN3. Because of the low melting and boiling points of the raw materials it was possible to synthesize the ZrN phase at low combustion temperatures. It was shown that the combustion temperature and the size of the particles can be readily controlled by tuning the concentration of the NaCl flux. The results show that an increase in the NaCl concentration (from 2 to 13 M) results in a temperature decrease from 1280 to 750˚C. ZrN nanoparticles have a high surface area (50-70 m2/g), narrow pore size distribution, and nano-particle size between 10 and 30 nm. The activation energy, which can be extracted from the experimental combustion temperature data, is: E = 20 kcal/mol. The method reported here is self-sustaining, rapid, and can be scaled up for a large scale production of a transition metal nitride nanoparticle system (TiN, TaN, HfN, etc.) with suitable halide salts and alkali metal azide.

Zirconium nitride powders were synthesized at a relatively lower temperature using methane as a reducing agent in the nitridation of zircoia. ZrO2 powder was prepared by a sol-gel technique. The resulting sol-gel was centrifuged, and the gel was washed with deionized water. Anhydrous ammonia was used as the nitrogen source and methane was used as the reducing agent. Conversion diagrams show the equilibrium solid phase as a function of reagent concentrations for a specific temperature and gas pressure for the reagent system NH3-ZrO2-CH4. The reagent concentration ranges within which pure ZrN is formed increase with increasing reaction temperature. Low pressure with an excess of hydrogen decreases the reaction temperature at which pure ZrN is formed. Low pressure together with the introduction of excess hydrogen into the reaction system increases Zr and N conversion efficiency and retards C deposition.