(Meta)stabiles CaC2

(Meta)stable CaC₂ One out of four modifications of CaC₂ is the so‐called metastable Calcium Carbide, CaC₂‐III, which was synthesized as pure material. It forms by heating monoclinic CaC₂‐II (C2/c) above 150 °C and remains stable after cooling down to room temperature. The structure was refined from X‐ray powder patterns (C2/m, Z = 4, a = 722.6(1) pm, b = 385.26(7) pm, c = 737.6(1) pm, β = 107.345(2)°). After grinding CaC₂‐III transforms back into CaC₂‐II. Heating CaC₂‐III induces a reversible phase transition into the cubic modification (CaC₂‐IV) at 460 °C. Differences between the three different structures of CaC₂ I–III, being stable at ambient conditions are also shown by ¹³C‐MAS‐NMR measurements, especially the presence of two distinct types of carbon atoms in the structure of the title compound.