Ammonothermal Synthesis of Novel Nitrides: Case Study on CaGaSiN3.

The first gallium-containing nitridosilicate CaGaSiN3 was synthesized in newly developed high-pressure autoclaves using supercritical ammonia as solvent and nitriding agent. The reaction was conducted in an ammonobasic environment starting from intermetallic CaGaSi with NaN3 as a mineralizer. At 770 K, intermediate compounds were obtained, which were subsequently converted to the crystalline nitride at temperatures up to 1070 K (70-150 MPa). The impact of other mineralizers (e.g., LiN3 , KN3 , and CsN3 ) on the product formation was investigated as well. The crystal structure of CaGaSiN3 was analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction and refined by the Rietveld method. The structural results were further corroborated by transmission electron microscopy, 29 Si MAS-NMR, and first-principle DFT calculations. CaGaSiN3 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Cmc21 (no. 36) with lattice parameters a=9.8855(11), b=5.6595(1), c=5.0810(1) Å, (Z=4, Rwp =0.0326), and is isostructural with CaAlSiN3 (CASN). Eu2+ doped samples exhibit red luminescence with an emission maximum of 620 nm and FWHM of 90 nm. Thus, CaGaSiN3 :Eu2+ also represents an interesting candidate as a red-emitting material in phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes (pc-LEDs). In addition to the already known substitution of alkaline-earth metals in (Ca,Sr)AlSiN3 :Eu2+ , inclusion of Ga is a further and promising perspective for luminescence tuning of widely used red-emitting CASN type materials.

Trigonal-Bipyramidal Coordination in First Ammoniates of ZnF2: ZnF2(NH3)3 and ZnF2(NH3)2.

Single crystals of ZnF2(NH3)3 and ZnF2(NH3)2 were obtained under ammonothermal conditions (250 °C, 196 MPa and 500 °C, 136 MPa). Upon thermal decomposition of both ZnF2(NH3)3 and ZnF2(NH3)2, a microcrystalline powder of ZnF2(NH3) was obtained. ZnF2(NH3)3 and ZnF2(NH3)2 represent probable intermediates in a conceivable ammonothermal synthesis of the semiconductor Zn3N2 and manifest a rare trigonal-bipyramidal coordination of F(-) and NH3 ligands around Zn(2+) according to single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Thermal analysis of all three compounds showed not only ZnF2(NH3) but also ZnF2(NH3)2 to be decomposition intermediates of ZnF2(NH3)3 prior to the formation of ZnF2. All three compounds demonstrate hydrogen bonds, as indicated by the intensities and half-widths of the bands in the vibrational spectra and by short N-H···F distances in the crystal structures of ZnF2(NH3)3 and ZnF2(NH3)2. With ZnF2(NH3)3, ZnF2(NH3)2, and ZnF2(NH3), we present the first ammoniates of ZnF2.