The 'Nitrogen of the 20th Century': N5+
New, simple inorganic chemical species can still be found.
Sometimes this happens purely experimentally, sometimes
following a theoretical prediction.
An example of the latter is the N5+ ion.
There are only three all-nitrogen species, so far known in
bulk matter:
N2 from the 18th Century (the air nitrogen)
N3- from the 19th century (this is the azide ion, used in initiators
in ammunition, and in airbags)
N5+ from the 20th Century.
The possible existence of this ion and its structure were published
in 1991 by P. Pyykkö and N. Runeberg [127]. A salt containing it,
(N5)(AsF6), was synthesized in 1999 by
Karl O. Christe et al. [Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
38 (1999) 2004], who knew about the prediction. Their later calculations
gave a structure, closely similar to the (singlet) one of 1991.
This salt is explosive, but gram amounts can be produced.
Karl O. Christe, USC
Sunday Times
For a list of our papers on new molecules,
click here.
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