Synthesis of FeN at 180 GPa and its crystal structure from a submicron-sized grain.

Iron tetra-nitride, FeN, was synthesized from the elements in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell at 180 (5) GPa and 2700 (200) K. Its crystal structure was determined based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction data collected from a submicron-sized grain at the synchrotron beamline ID11 of ESRF. The compound crystallizes in the triclinic space group . In the asymmetric unit, the Fe atom occupies an inversion centre (Wyckoff position 1), while two N atoms occupy general positions (2). The structure is made up from edge-sharing [FeN] octa-hedra forming chains along [100] and being inter-connected through N-N bridges. N atoms form -poly[tetraz-1-ene-1,4-di-yl] anions [-N=N-N-N-] running along [001]. In comparison with the previously reported structure of FeN at 135 GPa [Bykov (2018). , 2756], the crystal structure of FeN at 180 GPa is similar but the structural model is significantly improved in terms of the precision of the bond lengths and angles.