Synthesis and Crystal Structure of a New Niobium Oxynitride, Nb2N0.88O0.12

✍ Scribed by Kohta Yamada; Hidetoshi Masuda; Nobuaki Sato; Takeo Fujino

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 198 KB
• Volume: 150
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-4596
• DOI: 10.1006/jssc.1999.8545

✦ Synopsis

A new niobium oxynitride Nb 2 N 0.88 O 0.12 has been synthesized by reducing Nb 2 O 5 in a stream of H 2 gas containing 0.07% N 2 at 10803C for 5 weeks. The compound crystallizes in a hexagonal system with space group P3 1m, and Z ‫؍‬ 3. The lattice parameters are a ‫؍‬ 5.2916$0.0001 A s and c ‫؍‬ 4.9987$0.0001 A s . In this space group, the nitrogen/oxygen atoms statistically occupy the 1a and 2d positions, and niobium atoms occupy the 6k position. This structure is the same as that of -Nb 2 N ( -Fe 2 N type), and the compound is regarded as a solid solution of -Nb 2 N and hypothetical Nb 2 O of the same crystal structure. The crystallographic parameters were re5ned by using the Rietveld method. The chemical bonding of this compound seems to have a signi5cant covalent and/or metallic character in the ionic bonding.