“…Transition metal nitrides are of great interest in various industry applications 1,2 including packaging materials for semiconductors 3,4 , coatings for high-speed alloy cutting 5 , and high-temperature structural ceramics for nuclear materials 6 , etc., owing to their excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties 7–9 . Among them, zirconium nitride exhibits high hardness (~15 GPa) 10 , high melting point (2980 ± 50 °C), good thermal conductivity (45–50 W/mK) 11 , low electrical resistivity 12 , good abrasive resistance 13 and good corrosion resistance.…”