Trilithium nitride

  • Formula: Li3N
  • Hill system formula: Li3N1
  • CAS registry number: [26134-62-3]
  • Formula weight: 34.83
  • Class: nitride
  • Colour: purple or red
  • Appearance: crystalline solid
  • Melting point: 813°C
  • Boiling point:
  • Density: 1270 kg m-3

The following are some synonyms of trilithium nitride:

  • trilithium nitride
  • lithium(I) nitride
  • lithium nitride

The oxidation number of lithium in trilithium nitride is 1.

Synthesis

One way to make lithium nitride is by the rection of lithium metal with pressurized nitrogen gas (> 10 atmospheres) at high temperatures

6Li(l) + N2(g) (800°C, 10 atm) → 2Li3N(s)

Solid state structure

  • Geometry of lithium:
  • Prototypical structure:
Crystal structure of trilithium nitride.
Crystal structure of trilithium nitride.

Element analysis

The table shows element percentages for Li3N (trilithium nitride).

Element %
Li 59.79
N 40.21

Isotope pattern for Li3N

The chart below shows the calculated isotope pattern for the formula Li3N with the most intense ion set to 100%.

References

The data on these compounds pages are assembled and adapted from the primary literature and several other sources including the following.

  • R.T. Sanderson in Chemical Periodicity, Reinhold, New York, USA, 1960.
  • N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw in Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth, UK, 1997.
  • F.A. Cotton, G. Wilkinson, C.A. Murillo, and M. Bochmann, in Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
  • A.F. Trotman-Dickenson, (ed.) in Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry, Pergamon, Oxford, UK, 1973.
  • R.W.G. Wyckoff, in Crystal Structures, volume 1, Interscience, John Wiley & Sons, 1963.
  • A.R.West in Basic solid state chemistry Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
  • A.F. Wells in Structural inorganic chemistry, 4th edition, Oxford, UK, 1975.
  • J.D.H. Donnay, (ed.) in Crystal data determinative tables, ACA monograph number 5, American Crystallographic Association, USA, 1963.
  • D.R. Lide, (ed.) in Chemical Rubber Company handbook of chemistry and physics, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 77th edition, 1996.
  • J.W. Mellor in A comprehensive treatise on inorganic and theoretical chemistry, volumes 1-16, Longmans, London, UK, 1922-1937.
  • J.E. Macintyre (ed.) in Dictionary of inorganic compounds, volumes 1-3, Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 1992.

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