High Pressure Synthesis of Marcasite-Type Rhodium Pernitride

Marcasite-type rhodium nitride was successfully synthesized in a direct chemical reaction between a rhodium metal and molecular nitrogen at 43.2 GPa using a laser-heated diamond-anvil cell. This material shows a low zero-pressure bulk modulus of K-0 = 235(13) GPa, which is much lower than those of other platinum group nitrides. This finding is due to the weaker bonding interaction between metal atoms and quasi-molecular dinitrogen units in the marcasite-type structure, as proposed by theoretical studies.