Unlike its higher homologous beryllium metal is very resistant. Even at 600 °C it withstands oxygen and water. It‘s hardness coupled with low density makes it therefore a superior material in aerospace applications. It is also the standard most readily available starting material in beryllium chemistry. But But before chemists could can handle perform reactions with berylliumit with, it hast to be converted into basic compounds like beryllium halogenides, which can then be processed further, like beryllium halides. However, theeit use of these halides is limited and other educts starting materials obtain derived directly from the metal are scarce. For beryllium amide the only known synthesis to date occurs is the reaction offrom beryllium metal in liquid ammonia, atthat requires temperatures of about 370 °C and pressures up to 3500 atm, which makes this synthesis quite inaccessible. To circumvent these harsh conditions we decided to reinvestigate the reactivity of beryllium metal in liquid ammonia. By use of NMR and IR spectroscopy as well as X-ray diffraction, we could show that beryllium reacts with liquid ammonia at room temperature to a previously unknown kind of amide species, when by addition of corrosive anions are added to the solution.

Beryllium metal in liquid ammonia, an approach to the synthesis of beryllium amides

2019 Spring National Meeting

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