Zinc nitride ( Zn₃ N₂) is an

inorganic compound In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemis ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

and

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

, usually obtained as (blue)grey crystals. It is a semiconductor. In pure form, it has the anti-

bixbyite Bixbyite is a manganese iron oxide mineral with chemical formula: (Mn,Fe)2O3. The iron/manganese ratio is quite variable and many specimens have almost no iron. It is a metallic dark black with a Mohs hardness of 6.0 - 6.5. It is a somewhat ra ...

structure.

Chemical properties

Zinc nitride can be obtained by thermally decomposing zincamide (zinc diamine) in an

anaerobic Anaerobic means "living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen", as opposed to aerobic which means "living, active, or occurring only in the presence of oxygen." Anaerobic may also refer to: * Anaerobic adhesive, a bonding a ...

environment, at temperatures in excess of 200

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The d ...

. The by-product of the reaction is

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous ...

3Zn( NH₂)₂ → Zn₃N₂ + 4 NH₃

It can also be formed by heating zinc to 600

in a current of ammonia; the by-product is

hydrogen gas Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, a ...

3 Zn + 2 NH₃ → Zn₃N₂ + 3 H₂

The decomposition of Zinc Nitride into the elements at the same temperature is a competing reaction. At 700 °C Zinc Nitride decomposes. It has also been made by producing an electric discharge between zinc electrodes in a nitrogen atmosphere. Thin films have been produced by

chemical vapour deposition Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a vacuum deposition method used to produce high quality, and high-performance, solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films. In typical CVD, the wafer (substra ...

of Bis(bis(trimethylsilyl)amido]zinc with ammonia gas onto silica or ZnO coated alumina at 275 to 410 °C. The crystal structure is anti-

isomorphous In mathematics, an isomorphism is a structure-preserving mapping between two structures of the same type that can be reversed by an inverse mapping. Two mathematical structures are isomorphic if an isomorphism exists between them. The word is ...

with

Manganese(III) oxide Manganese(III) oxide is a chemical compound with the formula Mn2O3. It occurs in nature as the mineral bixbyite (recently changed to bixbyite-(Mn)IMA 21-H: Redefinition of bixbyite and definition of bixbyite-(Fe) and bixbyite-(Mn). CNMNC Newslette ...

. (

). The heat of formation is c. per mol. It is a semiconductor with a reported bandgap of c. 3.2eV, however, a thin zinc nitride film prepared by electrolysis of molten salt mixture containing Li₃N with a zinc electrode showed a band-gap of 1.01 eV. Zinc nitride reacts violently with

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

to form ammonia and

zinc oxide Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white powder that is insoluble in water. ZnO is used as an additive in numerous materials and products including cosmetics, food supplements, rubbers, plastics, ceramics, glass, cement ...

Zn₃N₂ + 3 H₂O → 3 ZnO + 2 NH₃

Zinc nitride reacts with lithium (produced in an electrochemical cell) by insertion. The initial reaction is the irreversible conversion into LiZn in a matrix of ''beta''- Li₃N. These products then can be converted reversibly and electrochemically into LiZnN and metallic Zn.

References

External links

Material Safety Data Sheet from GFS Chemicals
{{Nitrides

nitride In chemistry, a nitride is an inorganic compound of nitrogen. The "nitride" anion, N3- ion, is very elusive but compounds of nitride are numerous, although rarely naturally occuring. Some nitrides have a find applications, such as wear-resistant ...

II-V compounds II-V semiconductors

Chemical properties

See also

References

Further reading

External links