Conversion Mechanism of Soluble Alkylamide Precursors for the Synthesis of Colloidal Nitride Nanomaterials.

There are few molecular precursors that chemically convert to nitride nanomaterials, which severely limits the development of this important class of materials. Alkylamides are soluble and stable nitride precursors that can be based on the same primary amines that are often used in colloidal nanomaterial synthesis, but their conversion involves the breaking of stable C-N bonds through a mechanism that remained unknown up to now. A critical aspect of this conversion mechanism is uncovered here, involving a prelimary step whereby alkylamides are oxidized to N-alkylimines to yield NH amide species that are postulated to be the actual reactive precursors in the formation of indium nitride nanomaterials.