Synthesis and methane cracking activity of a silicon nitride supported vanadium nitride nanoparticle composite.

The co-ammonolysis of V(NMe2)4 and Si(NHMe)4 with ammonia in THF and in the presence of ammonium triflate ([NH4][CF3SO3]) leads to the formation of monolithic gels. Pyrolysing these gels produces mesoporous composite materials containing nanocrystalline VN and amorphous silicon imidonitride. Elemental mapping indicated a thorough distribution of VN with no evidence of large cluster segregation. Whilst not active for ammonia synthesis, the silicon nitride based materials were found to possess activity for the COx-free production of H2 from methane, which makes them candidates for applications in which the presence of low levels of CO in H2 feedstreams is detrimental.

在四氢呋喃（THF）中，在三氟甲磺酸铵（[NH₄][CF₃SO₃]）存在的条件下，V(NMe₂)₄和Si(NHMe)₄与氨共氨解生成整体凝胶。对这些凝胶进行热解可产生含有纳米晶VN和无定形硅亚胺氮化物的介孔复合材料。元素映射表明VN分布均匀，没有大团簇偏析的迹象。虽然这些基于氮化硅的材料对氨合成没有活性，但发现它们对甲烷无COₓ产氢具有活性，这使得它们可用于氢气进料流中低含量CO存在有害的应用场景。