Solid-state metathesis reactions under pressure: A rapid route to crystalline gallium nitride

Abstract

High pressure chemistry has traditionally involved applying pressure and increasing temperature until conditions become thermodynamically favorable for phase transitions or reactions to occur. Here, high pressure alone is used as a starting point for carrying out rapid, self-propagating metathesis reactions. By initiating chemical reactions under pressure, crystalline phases, such as gallium nitride, can be synthesized which are inaccessible when initiated from ambient conditions. The single-phase gallium nitride made by metathesis reactions under pressure displays significant photoluminescence intensity in the blue/ultraviolet region. The absence of size or surface-state effects in the photoluminescence spectra show that the crystallites are of micron dimensions. The narrow lines of the x-ray diffraction patterns and scanning electron microscopy confirm this conclusion. Brightly luminescent thin films can be readily grown using pulsed laser deposition.