Synthesis of III-V semiconductors by solid-state metathesis

• Published in: Inorganic chemistry Vol. 32; no. 12; pp. 2745 - 2752
• Main Authors: Treece, Randolph E, Macala, Gerald S, Rao, Lin, Franke, Deanna, Eckert, Hellmut, Kaner, Richard B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01.06.1993
• Subjects: 360601 - Other Materials- Preparation & Manufacture; 400201 - Chemical & Physicochemical Properties; ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS; CHEMICAL PREPARATION; Chemistry; COHERENT SCATTERING; DIFFRACTION; ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; Elements and non-metal compounds (oxides, hydroxides, hydrides, sulfides, carbides, ...); Exact sciences and technology; GALLIUM COMPOUNDS; HALOGEN COMPOUNDS; INDIUM COMPOUNDS; Inorganic chemistry and origins of life; INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; MAGNETIC RESONANCE; MATERIALS; MATERIALS SCIENCE; MICROSCOPY; NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE; PNICTIDES; Preparations and properties; RESONANCE; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; SCATTERING; SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS; SYNTHESIS; X-RAY DIFFRACTION; Indium III Iodides; Metal Compounds; Semiconductor materials; Aluminium III Chlorides; Preparation; Reaction path; Metathesis; Gallium III Fluorides; Solid phase; X ray diffraction
• ISSN: 0020-1669; 1520-510X
• DOI: 10.1021/ic00064a027

Solid-state precursor reactions have been investigated as a general synthetic route to binary III-V (13-15) compounds. The generic reaction scheme MX[sub 3] + Na[sub 3]Pn [yields] MPn + 3 NaX (M = Al, Ga, In; X = F, Cl, I; Pn = pnictogen = P, As, Sb) has been used to prepare crystalline powders of the III-V semiconductors. The reaction mixtures can be either heated in sealed tubes or ignited with a hot filament, and the byproduct salts are simply removed by washing with an appropriate solvent. The ignited reactions are self-propagating and highly exothermic, owing to the formation of 3 mol of sodium halide. Products from both types of reactions have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and solid-state NMR. In some cases, the products of the ignited solid-state metathesis (SSM) reactions differ from those of the sustained heating reactions. These differences provide clues as to reaction pathways in the solid-state precursor reactions.