Catalytic ammonolytic sol–gel preparation of a mesoporous silicon aluminium nitride from a single-source precursor

A high-surface-area microporous silicon aluminum imide gel Al3SiN2(NH)w(NH2)x(NMe2)y(NiPr)z was prepared via catalytic ammonolysis of tetrakis(isopropylimino)bis[tris(dimethylamino)silylamino]alane H6Al6(NiPr)4[NSi(NMe2)3]2. Pyrolysis of the gel under NH3 flow at 1000 °C gave an amorphous Si–Al–N ceramic composite in which silicon is tetrahedrally coordinated with nitrogen. Aluminum is mainly present as mixed AlN4 species. The Si–Al–N ceramic composite exhibits a mesoporous structure with relatively high surface area (114 m2 g−1) and narrow pore size distribution (2–8 nm).