Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Dinitrogen (N2), the major component of air is the only nitrogen allotrope found in nature. Due to its exceptional stability, its activation is rather challenging but a key step in N2 fixation as, for example, in the Haber-Bosch process.1–3 In Earth’s atmosphere, N2 is continuously activated through energetic processes that drive its chemistry away from equilibrium toward reactive nitrogen species. This activation has long inspired efforts to synthetically replicate these energetic processes and elucidate the underlying activation mechanisms. Here we present the formation of the C2h-N6 nitrogen allotrope (in short N6) through direct N2 activation. N6 was previously prepared starting from metal azides.4 In the present work, we continuously irradiated gaseous N2 with an electron beam at 200 eV under flow conditions, followed by co-deposition onto a cold window at 3.5 K. In such experiments, we detected N6 alongside oxygen-containing and atmospherically relevant nitrogen-oxo species and O3. The formation of N6 under such conditions establishes a new route to its formation directly from N2, thereby providing direct access to a neutral nitrogen allotrope that holds potential as a high-energy-density material.
Source: ChemRxiv
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7223011955