Germanium Nitride
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Germanium(IV) nitride is an
inorganic compound An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds⁠that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemistry''. Inorgan ...
with the chemical formula Ge3N4. It can be produced through the reaction of
germanium Germanium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid or a nonmetal in the carbon group that is chemically ...
and
ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...
: :3 Ge + 4 NH3 → Ge3N4 + 6 H2


Structure

In its pure state, germanium(IV) nitride is a colorless, inert solid that crystallizes in many polymorphs, of which the most stable is the
trigonal In crystallography, the hexagonal crystal family is one of the six crystal family, crystal families, which includes two crystal systems (hexagonal and trigonal) and two lattice systems (hexagonal and rhombohedral). While commonly confused, the tr ...
β-form (space group ''P''31''c''). In this structure, the germanium atoms are tetrahedrally coordinated while the nitrogen atoms are trigonal planar. The γ-form, which forms under high pressure, has a spinel structure.


References

{{Nitrides Germanium(IV) compounds Nitrides