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Updated: Feb 22, 2026
Neutron Crystallography Data Collection and Processing for Modelling Hydrogen Atoms in Protein Structures
Published on: December 1, 2020
The crystal density of nitrogen cubane and other polynitrogen species
1Land Systems Division, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, P.O. Box 25, 2027, Kjeller, Norway. john-f.moxnes@ffi.no.
Abstract:
The elusive Nn species remain hypothetical at the time of writing. However, they have long captured the imaginations of researchers in the field of energetic materials due to their high detonation velocity and detonation pressure. Solid nitrogen cubane N8 is one candidate material that has been much studied theoretically. We question the reported crystal density of this hypothetical solid (2.65 g/cm3). Here quantum mechanical volume estimates indicate that its density might be as low as 1.89 g/cm3. The predicted detonation pressure and velocities may thus be grossly overestimated of their true values.
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