Experimental Detection of Tetranitrogen

Abstract

Tetranitrogen (N4), which has been the subject of great theoretical interest, has been prepared from the N4+ cation and positively detected as a gaseous metastable molecule with a lifetime exceeding 1 microsecond in experiments based on neutralization-reionization mass spectrometry. An examination of the geometry of N4+ and the fragmentation pattern of the (14)N2(15)N2 neutral molecule has revealed that the latter is characterized by an open-chain geometry with two distinct, closely bound N2 units joined by a longer weaker bond.

A high-resolution infrared spectroscopic investigation of the halogen atom–HCN entrance channel complexes solvated in superfluid helium droplets

“…Such complexes would represent the beginnings of nano-scale radical solids which could be used as high-energy density materials [73]. Gordon et The experimental spectroscopic constants obtained from a fit to the infrared spectra for each of the prereactive HCN-X complexes.…”

High‐Energy‐Density Materials: Synthesis and Characterization of N5+[P(N3)6]−, N5+ [B(N3)4]−, N5+ [HF2]−⋅n HF, N5+ [BF4]−, N5+ [PF6]−, and N5+ [SO3F]−

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] While most of the efforts were devoted to theoretical studies, the long-known existence of the stable azide anion (N 3 À ) [18] and the recent syntheses of stable salts of the pentanitrogen cation (N 5 + ) [1][2][3] have demonstrated the feasibility of experimentally pursuing polynitrogen-containing materials. The only known direct method for preparing N 5 + compounds is their synthesis from an [N 2 …”

A Comparative Density Functional Theory and Density Functional Tight Binding Study of Phases of Nitrogen Including a High Energy Density Material N8

“…However, intermolecular interactions between Nn moieties could potentially result in decomposition [18]. As of today, no molecular Nn solid has been produced, although isolated Nn molecules have been detected with n = 3-5 [19][20][21][22][23]. Recently, Hirshberg, Gerber and Krylov [24] predicted, by ab initio simulations, the existence of N8, as a (meta)stable molecular crystal, at ambient pressures.…”