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Niobium nitride
Niobium
nitride
is a compound of
niobium
and
nitrogen
with the
chemical formula
NbN. At
low
temperatures NbN becomes a
superconductor
, and is used in
detectors
for
infrared light
.
Uses
Niobium nitride's main use is as a superconductor.
*Detectors based on it can detect a
single photon
in the 1-10
micrometer
section of the
infrared spectrum
, which is important for
astronomy
and
telecommunications
. It can detect changes up to
25
gigahertz
.
*Superconducting NbN
nanowires
can be used in
particle
detectors with high
magnetic fields
.
Niobium nitride is also used in absorbing
anti-reflective
coatings.
In 2015, it was reported that
Panasonic
Corp
. has developed a
photocatalyst
based on niobium nitride that can
absorb
57% of sunlight to support the
decomposition
of
water
to
produce
hydrogen gas
as fuel for
electrochemical
fuel cells
.
