Na14Ba14CaN6 – ein nanodisperses System von Salz in Metall

Structural frustration in a rod packing – An analogy to the disordered triangular Ising net

Single crystals of Na22Ba14(Ca, Sr)N6 show diffuse scattering which arranges in Kagomé nets in layers hkl with l = integer ≠ 0. The hexagons of the nets are centered by sharp Bragg spots. The structure represents a hexagonal rod packing, and in the averaged structure a superposition of the rods in two different orientations, type A and B, at equal weight is found. Due to a periodic alternation of bond character in the rod frustration effects occur which closely correspond to those in a triangular two-dimensional antiferromagnetic Ising spin system and give rise to diffuse scattering. The computer simulated diffuse scattering is in very good agreement with experiment, particularly, when the ideally frustrated system is slightly modified towards some randomness in the rod packing.

Plasma-Assisted Synthesis and Properties of Na3N

Dark-blue sodium nitride, Na(3)N, was prepared by the reaction of metallic sodium or liquid Na-K alloy with plasma-activated nitrogen at low pressure. The compound crystallizes in the cubic anti-ReO(3)-type structure (space group Pm3m with a = 4.73301(6) Angstrom and Z = 1) according to powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Na(3)N decomposes above 104 degrees C into the elements, with DeltaH(f) estimated at +64(2) kJ/mol.

The Metal Flux: A Preparative Tool for the Exploration of Intermetallic Compounds

This review highlights the use and great potential of liquid metals as exotic and powerful solvents (i.e. fluxes) for the synthesis of intermetallic phases. The results presented demonstrate that considerable advances in the discovery of novel and complex phases are achievable utilizing molten metals as solvents. A wide cross-section of examples of flux-grown intermetallic phases and related solids are discussed and a brief history of the origins of flux chemistry is given. The most commonly used metal fluxes are surveyed and where possible, the underlying principal reasons that make the flux reaction work are discussed.