Zinc cyanamide,Zn(CN2)

Single crystals of the title compound have been grown by annealing microcrystalline zinc cyan­amide at 843 K in silver crucibles. Zn(CN₂) crystallizes as colourless prisms. The crystal structure is composed of corner‐linked ZnN_4/2 tetrahedra. Carbon and nitro­gen form (CN₂)^2? dumb‐bells with the C atom on a twofold axis. Nitro­gen is approximately trigonally planar, coordinated by two Zn atoms and one C atom.