SYNTHESIS, CRYSTAL-STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF A LITHIUM MANGANESE NITRIDE, (LI,MN)(2)N

The grayish-black ternary nitride LixMn2-xN (x approximate to 0.67) wa s prepared from lithium nitride, manganese powder and nitrogen. The ph ase adopts an anti-Rutile structural arrangement with lithium and mang anese atoms disordered on one site: Space group P4(2)/mnm (No. 136), a =4.68578(9) Angstrom, c=2.97762(9) Angstrom, Z=2. The electrical resis tivity of a sintered pellet (rho approximate to 8.5.10(-3) Omega cm at 250 K) increases slowly as the temperature is decreased (to about 1.1 0(-2) Omega cm at 9 K). Magnetic susceptibility and solid state Li-6-N MR measurements suggest localized magnetic moments on the manganese at oms and probably an antiferromagnetic ordering at about 115 K. (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science S.A.