Germanium(IV) nitride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Ge3N4. It can be produced through the reaction of germanium and ammonia:
3 Ge + 4 NH3 → Ge3N4 + 6 H2Structure
In its pure state, germanium(IV) nitride is a colorless, inert solid that crystallizes in many polymorphs, of which the most stable is the trigonal β-form (space group P31c). In this structure, the germanium atoms are tetrahedrally coordinated while the nitrogen atoms are trigonal planar.2 The γ-form, which forms under high pressure, has a spinel structure.3
References
Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-08-037941-8. 978-0-08-037941-8 ↩
Ruddlesden, S. N.; Popper, P. (1958). "On the crystal structure of the nitrides of silicon and germanium". Acta Crystallographica. 11 (7): 465–468. doi:10.1107/S0365110X58001304. http://scripts.iucr.org/cgi-bin/paper?S0365110X58001304 ↩
McMillan, Paul F.; Deb, Sudip K.; Dong, Jian-Jung (2003). "High-pressure metastable phase transitions in ?-Ge3N4 studied by Raman spectroscopy". Journal of Raman Spectroscopy. 34 (7–8): 567–577. Bibcode:2003JRSp...34..567M. doi:10.1002/jrs.1007. ISSN 0377-0486. /wiki/Bibcode_(identifier) ↩