Facile synthesis of interstitial metal nitrides with the filled β-manganese structure

A new family of nitrides, Ni2−xM′xMo3N (M′=Co or Pd; 0⩽x⩽1.5), has been prepared pure by nitridation of commercially available crystalline metal oxides under reducing conditions (10% H2 in N2). The simple synthesis employs standard solid-state techniques and does not require the preparation of reactive precursors. Substitution of Ni by Co or Pd leads to a linear increase of the unit cell volume with composition. The temperature, composition, and...