Rare-Earth-Metal Nitridophosphates through High-Pressure Metathesis

Developing a synthetic method to target an broad spectrum of unknown phases can lead to fascinating discoveries. The preparation of the first rare-earth-metal nitridophosphate LiNdP4N8 is reported. High-pressure solid-state metathesis between LiPN2 and NdF3 was employed to yield a highly crystalline product. The in situ formed LiF is believed to act both as the thermodynamic driving force and as a flux to aiding single-crystal formation in dimensions suitable for crystal structure analysis. Magnetic properties stemming from Nd3+ ions were measured by SQUID magnetometry. LiNdP4N8 serves as a model system for the exploration of rare-earth-metal nitridophosphates that may even be expanded to transition metals. High-pressure metathesis enables the systematic study of these uncharted regions of nitride-based materials with unprecedented properties.