Chemical Preparation and Shock Wave Compression of Carbon Nitride Precursors

Abstract

Two synthetic routes have been developed to produce high‐molecular‐weight organic precursors containing a high weight fraction of nitrogen. One of the precursors is a pyrolysis residue of melamine‐formaldehyde resin. The second precursor is the byproduct of an unusual low‐temperature combustion reaction of tetrazole and its sodium salt. These precursors have been shock compressed under typical conditions for diamond and wurtzite boron nitride synthesis in an attempt to recover a new ultrahard carbon nitride. The recovered material has been analyzed by X‐ray diffraction, FTIR, and Raman microprobe analysis. Diamond is present in the recovered material. This diamond is extraordinarily well ordered relative to diamond shock synthesized from carbonaceous starting materials.