High-Pressure Synthesis of the β-ZnN Nitride and the α-ZnN and β-ZnN Polynitrogen Compounds.

High-pressure nitrogen chemistry has expanded at a formidable rate over the past decade, unveiling the chemical richness of nitrogen. Here, the Zn-N system is investigated in laser-heated diamond anvil cells by synchrotron powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, revealing three hitherto unobserved nitrogen compounds: β-ZnN, α-ZnN, and β-ZnN, formed at 35.0, 63.

Structural Stability and Properties of Marokite-Type γ-MnO.

We synthesized single crystals of marokite (CaMnO)-type orthorhombic manganese (II,III) oxide, γ-MnO, in a multianvil apparatus at pressures of 10-24 GPa. The magnetic, electronic, and optical properties of the crystals were investigated at ambient pressure. It was found that γ-MnO is a semiconductor with an indirect band gap of 0.

Synthesis of Ilmenite-type ε-MnO and Its Properties.

In contrast to the corundum-type AX structure, which has only one crystallographic site available for trivalent cations (e.g., in hematite), the closely related ABX ilmenite-type structure comprises two different octahedrally coordinated positions that are usually filled with differently charged ions (e.