Composition and Bonding Properties of Carbon Nitride Films Grown by Electrochemical Deposition Using Acrylonitrile Liquid

Abstract

Carbon nitride films were grown electrochemically through the application of a bias voltage to Si substrates immersed in acrylonitrile liquid. Continuous and uniform films were grown by the application of both negative and positive bias voltages. X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) of the grown films were studied to clarify their composition and bonding configurations. The XPS spectra show the presence of C, N, and O atoms as major components in the grown films. The atomic ratios of nitrogen to carbon in the films are estimated as 0.16 -0.28, which are comparable to those in amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN x ) films grown by conventional vapor deposition techniques. The analysis of C 1s and N 1s spectra reveals that the major bonding states of the grown films are attributed to a mixture of CN and hydrogenated C=N bonds.

Mild Solvothermal Growth of Robust Carbon Phosphonitride Films

“…Only in several instances, by clever design of volatile monomers, have g -C 3 N 4 films been successfully prepared by CVD/pyrolysis. ,, Only a single report exists of C 3 N 3 P CVD from a similar monomer . Although electrochemical methods have been widely successful at depositing films, the electrochemistry at play and high operating voltages result in products with composition closer to CN x ( x ≤ 0.66) than C 3 N 4 . − Recently, several groups have developed promising, mild solution-based methods for the preparation of carbon nitride films. Zhang et al demonstrated film deposition by solvolysis and sol processing of melon-like carbon nitride in nitric acid, while Xie et al demonstrated direct solvothermal film growth of triazine-based carbon nitride from molecular precursors in acetonitrile …”