AMMONIUM NITRIDE

Synthesis of triammonium nitride as a crystalline phase in Fm3m space group could possibly be achieved. The Fm3m structure would thus be comprised of ammonium cations in the cubic unit cell face centers, and nitride trianions on the cubic unit cell corners. Its synthesis could possibly be achieved with an alkaline earth nitride (i.e. calcium nitride) reacted with ammonium chloride in a stoichiometry of 1 mole of alkaline earth nitride to 6 moles of ammonium chloride...the reaction could be carried out in a sealed ampoule under nitrogen gas atmospheric pressure, at some, possibly elevated, temperature. The products of such a reaction would be the thermodynamically very stable alkaline earth (i.e. calcium) chloride salt, and phase separated from the alkaline earth (i.e. calcium) chloride salt would be the desired triammonium nitride crystalline, Fm3m phase thus. The stoichiometry of triammonium nitride is thus just the ordinary ammonia 1-3 stoichiometry, but the salt of ammonium cations and nitride anions would be ionic and crystalline, as opposed to the liquid or gaseous ordinary ammonia phase.