Zinc cyanamide, Zn(CN2)

Single crystals of the title compound have been grown by annealing microcrystalline zinc cyanamide at 843 K in silver crucibles. Zn(CN(2)) crystallizes as colourless prisms. The crystal structure is composed of corner-linked ZnN(4/2) tetrahedra. Carbon and nitrogen form (CN(2))(2-) dumb-bells with the C atom on a twofold axis. Nitrogen is approximately trigonally planar, coordinated by two Zn atoms and one C atom.