Phys.org  December 9, 2022 Non-metal nitrides contain structural units whose existence could not be empirically proven before. An international team of researchers (Germany, Sweden, USA – University of Chicago, France) synthesized previously unknown modification of the phosphorus nitride P₃N₅ at a pressure of 72 gigapascals. At 134 gigapascals, the phosphorus nitride PN₂ formed in the diamond anvil cell. They discovered that a key reason for this extreme strength was that the crystal structures of δ-P₃N₅ and PN₂ consist of a dense network of PN₆ octahedra with a phosphorus atom surrounded by six nitrogen atoms. The polymorph δ-P₃N₅ transformed into another […]