Synthesis of rhenium nitride crystals with MoS2 structure

摘要

Rhenium nitride (ReN_2) crystals were synthesized from a metathesis reaction between ReCl_5 and Li_3N under high pressure. The reaction was well controlled by the addition of a large amount of NaCl as reaction inhibitor to prevent a violent exothermic reaction. The largest rhenium nitride crystals obtained had a millimeter-order size with a platelet shape. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that rhenium nitride has MoS_2 structure similar to hexagonal rhenium diboride (ReB_2) which has recently been investigated as an ultra-hard material. The structure was different from any structures previously predicted for ReN_2 by theoretical calculations.