Reactivity metal nitrides

Heating ammonia with a reactive metal, such as magnesium, gives the nitride. 

As a result of their reactivity, particular attention must be given to preparation and purification of the metals, the conditions under which the metals, alloys and compounds are handled and the choice of material for the containment vessel. Ultrapure group-IIB metals may be used without further purification, but it is advisable to purify the group-IIA metals by a multidistillation process, the final distillation preferably being carried out in situ. The reactants and products are best handled in an atmosphere of a purified inert gas, usually He or Ar (N2 cannot be used because of the ready formation of group-IIA metal nitrides) alternatively, they can be handled under vacuum or, in rare cases, under halide fluxes. The containment vessel is normally fabricated from a refractory. 

Stevenson S, Stephen RR, Amos TM, Cadorette VR, Reid JE, Phillips JP (2005) Synthesis and purification of a metallic nitride fullerene bisadduct exploring the reactivity of Gd(NZ ,C80. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127 12776-12777. 

This review has focused on the various methods that have been reported for the synthesis of metal nitride complexes, as well as even larger number of metal nitrides that have been isolated for a wide range of transition metals throughout the periodic table. It is clear that these complexes have an intriguing array of reactivity and structure. There is a burgeoning field of study that has demonstrated that these complexes already display a host of desirable properties in materials science, medicine, and chemical synthesis. Further investigations of the structure and reactivity of metal nitrides complexes will undoubtedly yield important contributions in the evolution of this exciting field. 

In this study, M02N and CoMo nitrides were prepared from their respective oxides by means of temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) with ammonia, and their reactivities toward thiophene HDS were investigated. Effects of sulfidation of these metal nitrides on thiophene HDS were also examined. X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis and scanning electron microscopy were also carried out to study the structure and compositional changes after sulfidation. 

Of the group 13 metals, only A1 reacts directly with N2 (at 1020K) to form a nitride AIN has a wurtzite lattice and is hydrolysed to NH3 by hot dilute alkali. Gallium and indium nitrides also crystallize with the wurtzite structure, and are more reactive than their B or A1 counterparts. The importance of the group 13 metal nitrides, and of the related... 

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