Cubic gauche polymeric nitrogen under ambient conditions.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29030605.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-017-01083-5 and PMC identifier 5640604.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
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.