Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline gallium nitride by nitridation of Ga-EDTA complex

Gallium nitride (GaN) nanocrystals were synthesized by nitridation of Ga-EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid) complexes at different temperatures starting from 600 to 900 oC. X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman studies revealed that the compound synthesized at 900 oC consists of single-phase GaN nanocrystals with wurtzite structure. The change in morphology of the GaN crystals at different temperatures was observed using scanning electron microscopy. The transmission electron microscopy showed the average size of the crystalline particles to be ∼20 nm. The room temperature photoluminescence exhibits band-edge emission of GaN at 3.46 eV for all the samples. The present study demonstrates that the nitridation of Ga-EDTA complex method has significant potential for the synthesis of GaN nanocrystals as a simple and inexpensive method.