Azides of Platinum

A normal platinum azide is not known, but complex azides of both Pt(II) and Pt(IV) have been described. When investigating the latter, Curtius and Rissom [62] obtained red solutions of the potassium salt which exploded violently when heated, and a dark red residue, obtained upon concentration, exploded spontaneously with high brisance. The sensitivity disappears in combination with large organic cations or amine ligands, yielding compounds that decompose slowly when heated but are stable to impact. They are, however, photosensitive and will deteriorate within hours or days. 

The tetraazidoplatinate(II), [Pt (N3)4] , is formed when 0.1 g K2PtCl4 and 1.6 g sodium azide are heated in 10ml water for 10 min to 40°C it is precipitated with large cations as orange salts [139,162,173]. The corresponding complex of tetrapositive platinum, [Pt (N3)6] , is prepared from H2PtCl6 in the same manner [139,173,174]. 

Also known are some neutral azido complexes of Pt(II) containing large amine or phosphine ligands (L), such as [LPt (N3)2] [169], and [L2Pt°(N3)2] [169,172]. 

---