Synthesis, electrochemical and photoluminescence properties of titanium nitride nanoparticles

Abstract

Titanium nitride nanoparticles were efficiently synthesized by molten-salt method in MgCl2–NaCl media at a low temperature of 700 °C for 1 h, using titanium dioxide and Mg as raw materials in a N2 atmosphere. The investigations of nanostructure analysis indicate that the as-prepared titanium nitride is a pure phase, and has excellent crystallinity and high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area. Electrochemical tests show that the titanium nitride nanoparticles exhibit a specific capacitance of 26.4 F/g at 0.25 A/g discharge current density and a low internal resistance (Rs) of 2.0 Ω. The photoluminescence spectrum shows four prominent and high intense peaks centered at 279, 420, 561 and 838 nm, suggesting the good optical property of the titanium nitride nanoparticles.