Effect of Carbon Source Content on the Carbothermal Synthesis of AlN Powders Using a Combustion Synthesis Precursor

AlN powders were synthesized by carbothermal reduction method using a combustion synthesis precursor derived from aluminum nitrate (oxidizer), glucose (carbon source), and urea (fuel) mixed solution. Effects of carbon source content on the combustion temperature of solutions, the particle size and morphology of the precursors and the synthesized AlN were studied in detail. The results indicated that a regular variation in the particle size and morphology of precursors had been observed with the increasing molar ratio of glucose to aluminum nitrate (C/Al). The products prepared with (C/Al=8–12), calcined at 1500 oC for 2 h, could have completed the nitridation reaction, while the nitridation products prepared with (C/Al=4 and 16) are opposite. The nitridation products prepared with (C/Al=8–12), calcined at 1500 oC for 2 h, are comprised of well-distributed spherical particles of AlN with the average size ranging from 50 to 80 nm.