Synthesis of beta carbon nitride nanosized crystal through mechanochemical reaction

Nanosized beta carbon nitride (β-C 3 N 4 ), of grain size several tens of nanometres, has been synthesized by mechanochemical reaction processing. The low-cost synthetic method developed facilitates the novel and effective synthesis of nanosized crystalline β-C 3 N 4 ( a = 6.36 Å, c = 4.648 Å) powders. The graphite powders were first milled to a nanoscale state, then the nanosized graphite powders were milled in an atmosphere of NH 3 gas. It was found that nanosized β-C 3 N 4 was formed after high-energy ball milling under an NH 3 atmosphere. After thermal annealing, the shape of the β-C 3 N 4 changes from flake-like to sphere-like. The nanosized β-C 3 N 4 formed was characterized by x-ray diffraction, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. A solid–gas reaction mechanism was proposed for the formation of nanosized β-C 3 N 4 at room temperature induced by mechanochemical activation.