Amorphous silicon oxynitride powder was synthesized by nitridation of high-purity silica in ammonia at 1120°C. The resulting material was X-ray amorphous, and its chemical characteristics were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and "Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The XPS analysis showed a shift to lower binding energies for the Si2p peak with increasing nitrogen content. Upon initial nitridation, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the Si2p peak increased, but decreased again at higher nitrogen contents, thus showing the formation of a silicon oxynitride phase with a single or small range of composition. The "Si NMR analysis showed the formation of (amorphous) Si,N, (Si-N,) and possibly two oxynitride phases (Si-N,O, Si-N,O,). It is concluded that while XPS, FT-IR, and nitrogen analysis may show the formation of an homogeneous, amorphous silicon oxynitride (Si,N,O) phase, the formation of phase-pure, amorphous Si,N,O is extremely difficult via this route.
Studies have been made of the near surface photooxidation of atactic polystyrene films prepared in the absence of air. The samples were photooxidized on exposure to air at two frequencies, 254 and 365 nm, using a calibrated mercury irradiation source with filters. Most studies were made at 40°C and as a function of irradition time with the reactions characterized by changes in molecular weight and composition. The former was evaluated by gel permeation chromatography and the latter by transmission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and by multiple-internal-reflectance infrared spectra using different angles and different crystals to evaluate compositions as a function of film depth. Species identified in photooxidation include the generation of hydroperoxides and the appearance of carbonyl bands with the latter identified by the spectral shift asociated with the exposure of the photooxidized polystyrene surface to ammonia. These results suggest that principal products of near-surface oxidation of polystyrene are carboxylic acids.
Solid‐state 29Si NMR techniques were used to characterize laser‐synthesized silicon nitride powder prepared from the reaction of silane with ammonia. When the powder is exposed to water vapor, a hydrated layer rapidly forms at the surface. A comparison of 29Si cross polarization (CP) and Bloch decay (BD)‐MAS‐NMR spectra revealed differences between surface and bulk compositions. CP‐NMR identified Si‐NHx (x = 1, 2) species with a chemical shift of −45 ppm in the as‐synthesized (unexposed) powder. In BD‐NMR spectra, the nitride resonance is observed at −48 ppm. For the hydrated powder, CP‐NMR identified additional =Si‐OH (Q3), =Si‐(OH)2 (Q2), and SiO2 (Q4) species present at the surface. The CP‐NMR spectra were corrected for TlpH relaxation effects and deconvoluted into individual components in order to extract quantitative measurements of the various species present.
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