(Ba6O)(ReN3)2: Synthesis,Crystal Structure and Physical Properties

The reaction of a mixture of barium and rhenium (3:1) at 850 °C under flowing nitrogen yielded the nitride‐oxide (Ba₆O)(ReN₃)₂ (R (No. 148); a = 8.1178(2) Å, c = 17.5651(4) Å; V = 1002.43(5) Å³; Z = 6). According to a structure refinement on X‐ray powder diffraction data, this compound is isostructural to a recently described nitride‐oxide of osmium of analogous composition. The structure consists of sheets of trigonal ReN₃ units and trigonal antiprismatic Ba₆O groups. The Ba–O distance of 2.73 Å is close to the sum of the respective ionic radii. The trigonal ReN₃^5– nitride anion displays a Re–N bond length of 1.94 Å, and is planar within the limits of experimental error. The constitution of the anion was confirmed by IR and Raman spectroscopy. The nitride‐oxide is stable up to 1000 °C, semiconducting (σ = 4.57 × 10^–3 Ω^–1 · cm^–1 at RT), and paramagnetic down to 25 K. A Curie–Weiss analysis resulted in a magnetic moment of μ = 0.68 μ_B per rhenium atom.