New anti-fluorite solid-solution phases in Li-Ti-N ternary system

Abstract

New Li-Ti-N solid-solution compounds with an anti-fluorite-type superstructure were synthesized by heating the mixture of Li3N and TiN at 800°C in Ar flow. The compositions of the new compounds seem to lie on the tie-line between the two well-known compounds, Li3N (hexagonal, P6/mmm) and Li5TiN3 (cubic, I2 1/a-3) by Li evaporation during heating in Ar gas flow, and nominally represented with Li5+yTi1-yN3-y. The solubility is large; the anti-fluorite-type superstructure of Li 5TiN3 (y = 0) was retained up to y = ca. 0.9, which is close to the end member Li3N (y = 1) with a different layered structure. This finding opens up further exploring other new Li-M-N (M = transition metals, group XIII, or XIV elements) phases with some attractive functions. ©2009 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.