DOE OSTI2020
Cr3Nb3N crystallizes in the cubic Fd-3m space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Nb is bonded in a distorted bent 150 degrees geometry to six Cr and two equivalent N atoms. There are two shorter (2.81 Å) and four longer (2.92 Å) Nb–Cr bond lengths. Both Nb–N bond lengths are 2.18 Å. There are two inequivalent Cr sites. In the first Cr site, Cr is bonded to six equivalent Nb and six equivalent Cr atoms to form CrNb6Cr6 cuboctahedra that share corners with six equivalent CrNb6Cr6 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent NNb6 octahedra, and faces with fourteen CrNb6Cr6 cuboctahedra. All Cr–Cr bond lengths are 2.46 Å. In the second Cr site, Cr is bonded to six equivalent Nb and six Cr atoms to form distorted CrNb6Cr6 cuboctahedra that share corners with nine CrNb6Cr6 cuboctahedra, corners with three equivalent NNb6 octahedra, faces with thirteen CrNb6Cr6 cuboctahedra, and faces with three equivalent NNb6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 43°. All Cr–Cr bond lengths are 2.54 Å. N is bonded to six equivalent Nb atoms to form NNb6 octahedra that share corners with six equivalent CrNb6Cr6 cuboctahedra, corners with six equivalent NNb6 octahedra, edges with six equivalent CrNb6Cr6 cuboctahedra, and faces with six equivalent CrNb6Cr6 cuboctahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 42°.