A series of energetic metal pentazolate hydrates

Metal complexes of the pentazole anion exhibit multiple coordination modes, through ionic, covalent and hydrogen-bonding interactions, and good thermal stability with onset decomposition temperatures greater than 100 °C. Polynitrogen compounds can decompose to N2 with an extraordinarily large energy release, which makes them promising candidate materials for explosives but difficult to produce in a stable form. Compounds containing five-membered all-nitrogen rings have attracted particular interest in the search for a stable polynitrogen molecule. Yuangang Xu et al. report five metal complexes containing the pentazole anion, cyclo--N5−, four of which exhibit good thermal stability and a range of different bonding interactions for stabilization. Given their energetic properties and stability, and the adaptability of the cyclo-N5− species in terms of its bonding interactions, these complexes might lead to the development of a new class of high-energy-density materials and of other unusual polynitrogen complexes. Singly or doubly bonded polynitrogen compounds can decompose to dinitrogen (N2) with an extremely large energy release. This makes them attractive as potential explosives or propellants1,2,3, but also challenging to produce in a stable form. Polynitrogen materials containing nitrogen as the only element exist in the form of high-pressure polymeric phases4,5,6, but under ambient conditions even metastability is realized only in the presence of other elements that provide stabilization. An early example is the molecule phenylpentazole, with a five-membered all-nitrogen ring, which was first reported in the 1900s7 and characterized in the 1950s8,9. Salts containing the azide anion (N3−)10,11,12 or pentazenium cation (N5+)13 are also known, with compounds containing the pentazole anion, cyclo-N5−, a more recent addition14,15,16. Very recently, a bulk material containing this species was reported17 and then used to prepare the first example of a solid-state metal–N5 complex18. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of five metal pentazolate hydrate complexes [Na(H2O)(N5)]·2H2O, [M(H2O)4(N5)2]·4H2O (M = Mn, Fe and Co) and [Mg(H2O)6(N5)2]·4H2O that, with the exception of the Co complex, exhibit good thermal stability with onset decomposition temperatures greater than 100 °C. For this series we find that the N5− ion can coordinate to the metal cation through either ionic or covalent interactions, and is stabilized through hydrogen-bonding interactions with water. Given their energetic properties and stability, pentazole–metal complexes might potentially serve as a new class of high-energy density materials19 or enable the development of such materials containing only nitrogen20,21,22,23. We also anticipate that the adaptability of the N5− ion in terms of its bonding interactions will enable the exploration of inorganic nitrogen analogues of metallocenes24 and other unusual polynitrogen complexes.