Magnesium imide: synthesis and structure determination of an unconventional alkaline earth imide from decomposition of magnesium amide.

Magnesium imide (MgNH) was produced by monitoring the decomposition process of magnesium amide with in situ neutron diffraction. Significant changes in the structure of magnesium amide are detected during heat treatment and eventually result in the formation of crystalline MgNH. A model for the crystal structure of magnesium imide (MgNH) is presented for the first time. Remarkably, magnesium imide offers unique structural features similar to the cyclosilicate class and can be described as a porous solid formed by a sequence of linked chains of face sharing Mg(6)N(6) hexagonal prism clusters.