Cubic gauche polymeric nitrogen under ambient conditions

The long-sought cubic gauche phase of polymeric nitrogen (cg-PN) with nitrogen-nitrogen single bonds has been synthesized together with a related phase by a radio-frequency plasma reaction under near-ambient conditions. Here, we report the synthesis of polymeric nitrogen using a mixture of nitrogen...

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Veröffentlicht in:Nature communications 2017-10, Vol.8 (1), p.930-6, Article 930
Hauptverfasser: Benchafia, El Mostafa, Yao, Zhenhua, Yuan, Gu, Chou, Tsengmin, Piao, Hong, Wang, Xianqin, Iqbal, Zafar
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The long-sought cubic gauche phase of polymeric nitrogen (cg-PN) with nitrogen-nitrogen single bonds has been synthesized together with a related phase by a radio-frequency plasma reaction under near-ambient conditions. Here, we report the synthesis of polymeric nitrogen using a mixture of nitrogen and argon flowing over bulk β-sodium azide or β-sodium azide dispersed on 100 nm long multiwall carbon nanotubes. The cg-PN phase is identified by Raman and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. The synthesis of the cubic gauche allotrope of high energy density polymeric nitrogen under near-ambient conditions should therefore enable its optimized production and applications as a “green” energetic material and a potential catalyst for different chemical reactions. Polymeric phases of nitrogen are promising as environmentally-friendly, high energy-density materials, but are inherently unstable. Here, the authors report the synthesis and stabilization of polymeric nitrogen in its cubic gauche phase under near-ambient conditions, via plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-017-01083-5