The oxynitrides are a group of inorganic compounds containing

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

and

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

not bound to each other, instead combined with other non-metallic or metallic elements. Some of these are oxosalts with oxygen replaced by nitrogen. Some of these compounds do not have a fixed oxygen to nitrogen ratio, but instead form

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

with a range of compositions. They are in the class of

mixed anion compounds Mixed-anion compounds, heteroanionic materials or mixed-anion materials are chemical compounds containing cations and more than one kind of anion. The compounds contain a single phase, rather than just a mixture. Use in materials science By having ...

. Many can be formed by heating an oxide or carbonate with ammonia. The hydrogen can assist by reducing some of the oxygen. With higher temperatures and pressures nitrogen can be heated with a mixed oxide to yield a product. Other nitrogen rich compounds that can be heated with oxygen containing material are

urea Urea, also called carbamide (because it is a diamide of carbonic acid), is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two Amine, amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest am ...

and

melamine Melamine is an organic compound with the formula C3H6N6. This white solid is a trimer (chemistry), trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-Triazine, 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass, and its derivatives ha ...

. For example

heated with

ammonium dihydrogen phosphate Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP), also known as monoammonium phosphate (MAP) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (NH4)(H2PO4). ADP is a major ingredient of agricultural fertilizers and dry chemical fire extinguishers. It also has ...

yields a phosphorus oxynitride. There may not be a definite ratio of nitrogen to oxygen, and also nitrogen and oxygen may be disordered, swapping places at random. Compared to oxides, the oxynitrides have a smaller band gap.

List

References

{{oxides Oxygen compounds Nitrides