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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday June 03 2020, @11:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the under-pressure dept.

'Black nitrogen': Researchers discover new high-pressure material and solve a puzzle of the periodic table:

In the periodic table of elements there is one golden rule for carbon, oxygen and other light elements: Under high pressures, they have similar structures to heavier elements in the same group of elements. But nitrogen always seemed unwilling to toe the line. However, high-pressure chemistry researchers of the University of Bayreuth have disproved this special status. Out of nitrogen, they created a crystalline structure which, under normal conditions, occurs in black phosphorus and arsenic. The structure contains two-dimensional atomic layers, and is therefore of great interest for high-tech electronics. The scientists have presented this "black nitrogen" in Physical Review Letters.

[...] Elements with similar properties are placed one below the other in the same column, and thus form a group of elements. [...] In earlier high-pressure experiments, nitrogen showed no structures similar to those exhibited under normal conditions by the heavier elements of this group—specifically, phosphorus, arsenic and antimony. Instead, such similarities are observed at high pressures in the neighboring groups headed by carbon and oxygen.

In fact, nitrogen is no exception to the rule. [...] At very high pressures and temperatures, nitrogen atoms form a crystalline structure that is characteristic of black phosphorus, which is a particular variant of phosphorus. The structure also occurs in arsenic and antimony. It is composed of two-dimensional layers in which nitrogen atoms are cross-linked in a uniform zigzag pattern.

[...] It took truly extreme conditions to produce black nitrogen. The compression pressure was 1.4 million times the pressure of the Earth's atmosphere, and the temperature exceeded 4,000 degrees

More information: Dominique Laniel et al, High-Pressure Polymeric Nitrogen Allotrope with the Black Phosphorus Structure, Physical Review Letters (2020). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.216001


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  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2020, @12:28AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2020, @12:28AM (#1002996)

    Why do researchers need to call it "black" nitrogen? Haven't they been watching the news? All elements are the same under their skin.

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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2020, @12:31AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2020, @12:31AM (#1002998)

    The cocksucker above beat me to it.

    Oh damn, I can't breathe...

  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday June 04 2020, @01:17AM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday June 04 2020, @01:17AM (#1003008) Journal

    You could work in the fact that it's crystalline.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2020, @01:21AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2020, @01:21AM (#1003009)

    It is called "black nitrogen" because it is black, just like graphene, whose structure it resembles. The conjugated pi-systems in both materials act as very long antennas and are able to absorb all visible wavelengths, creating the black color you see.

  • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Thursday June 04 2020, @02:41AM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Thursday June 04 2020, @02:41AM (#1003039)

    Elements, perhaps, but even simple compounds, such as ice [youtube.com] are a different story.

  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday June 04 2020, @04:30PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 04 2020, @04:30PM (#1003278) Journal

    All elements are the same under their skin.

    The difference in the skin is real. It is irrelevant. It should not matter.

    For some reason, this genetic difference is a very important factor, for some people, to discriminate other people into different boxes. Yet other genetic differences, like stupidity, are highly valued.

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