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.