A new route to metal azides.

Beside several other applications, metal azides can be used for the synthesis of nitridophosphates and binary nitrides. Herein we present a novel synthetic access to azides: Several metals, such as main-group, transition metals, and rare-earth metals, react with silver azide in liquid ammonia as a solvent giving the corresponding metal azides. In this work Mn(N3)2, Sn(N3)2, and Eu(N3)2, as well as their ammonia complexes were synthesized for the first time through low-temperature methods.

A high-pressure polymorph of phosphorus nitride imide.

Phosphorus nitride imide, PN(NH), is of great scientific importance because it is isosteric with silica (SiO2). Accordingly, a varied structural diversity could be expected. However, only one polymorph of PN(NH) has been reported thus far.

Phenakite-type BeP2N4--a possible precursor for a new hard spinel-type material.

BeP(2)N(4) was synthesized in a multi-anvil apparatus starting from Be(3)N(2) and P(3)N(5) at 5 GPa and 1500 degrees C. The compound crystallizes in the phenakite structure type (space group R3, no. 148) with a=1269.

The stuffed framework structure of SrP2N4: challenges to synthesis and crystal structure determination.

SrP2N4 was obtained by high-pressure high-temperature synthesis utilizing the multianvil technique (5 GPa, 1400 degrees C) starting from mixtures of phosphorus(V) nitride and strontium azide. SrP2N4 turned out to be isotypic with BaGa(2)O(4) and is closely related to KGeAlO(4). The crystal structure (SrP2N4, a=17.