An unusual nitride network of aluminum-centered octahedra and phosphorus-centered tetrahedra and structure determination from microcrystalline samples

Abstract

A new imidooxonitridophosphate AlP₆O_3x(NH)_3−3xN₉ with x ≈ 0.33 was synthesized under high-pressure high-temperature conditions. The crystal structure determination of the microcrystalline product involved a combination of electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray diffraction and solid-state NMR. In the solid there are discrete AlN₆ octahedra that interconnect imidophosphate layers. The network topology is unprecedented but is related to other nitride structures.