Coatings 2015, 5, 656-687; doi:10.3390/coatings5040656 OPEN ACCESS coatings ISSN 2079-6412 www.mdpi.com/journal/coatings Review Molybdenum Nitride Films: Crystal Structures, Synthesis, Mechanical, Electrical and Some Other Properties Isabelle Jauberteau 1,*, Annie Bessaudou 2, Richard Mayet 1, Julie Cornette 1, Jean Louis Jauberteau 1, Pierre Carles 1 and Thérèse Merle-Méjean 1 1 Université de Limoges, CNRS, ENSCI, SPCTS UMR7315, F-87000 Limoges, France; E-Mails:
[email protected] (R.M.);
[email protected] (J.C.);
[email protected] (J.L.J.);
[email protected] (P.C.);
[email protected] (T.M.-M.) 2 Université de Limoges, CNRS, XLIM UMR6172, F-87060 Limoges, France; E-Mail:
[email protected] * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
[email protected]; Tel.: +33-587-502-323; Fax: +33-587-502-304. Academic Editor: Alessandro Lavacchi Received: 24 July 2015 / Accepted: 29 September 2015 / Published: 13 October 2015 Abstract: Among transition metal nitrides, molybdenum nitrides have been much less studied even though their mechanical properties as well as their electrical and catalytic properties make them very attractive for many applications. The δ-MoN phase of hexagonal structure is a potential candidate for an ultra-incompressible and hard material and can be compared with c-BN and diamond. The predicted superconducting temperature of the metastable MoN phase of NaCl-B1-type cubic structure is the highest of all refractory carbides and nitrides. The composition of molybdenum nitride films as well as the structures and properties depend on the parameters of the process used to deposit the films.