Calcium nitride is the
inorganic compound with the
chemical formula
In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbol ...
Ca3 N2. It exists in various forms (
isomorph
An isomorph is an organism that does not change in shape during growth. The implication is that its volume is proportional to its cubed length, and its surface area to its squared length. This holds for any shape it might have; the actual shape de ...
s), α-calcium nitride being more commonly encountered.
Structure
α-Calcium nitride adopts an anti-
bixbyite
Bixbyite is a manganese iron oxide mineral with chemical formula: (Mn,Fe)2O3. The iron/manganese ratio is quite variable and many specimens have almost no iron. It is a metallic dark black with a Mohs hardness of 6.0 - 6.5. It is a somewhat rare ...
structure, similar to
Mn2O3, except that the positions of the ions are reversed: calcium (Ca
2+) take the oxide (O
2−) positions and nitride ions (N
3−) the manganese (Mn
3+). In this structure, Ca
2+ occupies tetrahedral sites, and the nitride centres occupy two different types of octahedral sites.
Synthesis and reactions
Calcium nitride is formed along with the oxide,
CaO Cao or CAO may refer to:
Mythology
*Cao (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology
Companies or organizations
* Air China Cargo, ICAO airline designator CAO
*CA Oradea, Romanian football club
*CA Osasuna, Spanish football club
*Canadian Assoc ...
, when calcium burns in air. It can be produced by direct reaction of the elements:
:3 Ca + N
2 → Ca
3N
2
It reacts with water or even the moisture in air to give
ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wa ...
and
calcium hydroxide:
:Ca
3N
2 + 6 H
2O → 3 Ca(OH)
2 + 2 NH
3
Like
sodium oxide
Sodium oxide is a chemical compound with the formula Na2 O. It is used in ceramics and glasses. It is a white solid but the compound is rarely encountered. Instead "sodium oxide" is used to describe components of various materials such as glass ...
, calcium nitride absorbs hydrogen above 350 °C:
:Ca
3N
2 + 2 H
2 → 2 CaNH +
CaH2
General references
*
References
External links
WebElements entry
Nitrides
Calcium compounds
{{inorganic-compound-stub