Research Progress in the Polymeric Nitrogen with High Energy Density

Abstract Polymeric nitrogen is a potential high-energy-density material with the advantages of high energy density, easy availability of raw materials, and non-pollution. The design and synthesis of polymeric nitrogen are important in the research field of energetic materials. The cubic gauche nitrogen was successfully synthesized at high pressure in the diamond anvil cell, which stimulated the theoretical and experimental investigations. To date, several hundred kinds of polymeric nitrogen have been reported. This review introduces the progressive development of polymeric nitrogen with high energy density, the challenges faced by the synthesized polymeric nitrogen under high-pressure, and the importance to improve the stability of polymeric nitrogen at ambient pressure. Furthermore, alternative methods for synthesizing polymeric nitrogen under moderate conditions are also presented. In this field, more efforts are needed to develop strategies for stabilizing more polymeric nitrogen to ambient conditions, especially the stability of free surfaces.