Synthesis of AlN powder from Al(OH)3 by reduction–nitridation in a mixture of NH3–C3H8 gas

Aluminum nitride (AlN) powders were synthesized by gas-reduction–nitridation of aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3) powders using a mixture of NH3 and C3H8 gases. A high conversion to AlN (over 70% of naitridation ratio) and single-phase AlN were achieved over 1200 °C. The specific surface area of the products decreased with increasing of reaction temperature and soaking time, and products obtained contain much lesser oxygen than those of the previous researches. The reason why such nanosized AlN powders were easily obtained from Al(OH)3 was considered to be the higher surface areas of transition alumina formed by dehydration of Al(OH)3 during firing.