High Pressure Behavior of Mercury Cyanamide HgCN2

Using the diamond anvil cell technique, angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were employed to study the high pressure behavior of mercury cyanamide. Its decomposition under pressure starts at 1.9 GPa and is not completed even up to 10 GPa. The decomposition product α-Hg transforms to β-Hg during 7–10 GPa, while the C/N residual is not detectable by X-ray diffraction. The zero pressure bulk modulus of mercury cyanamide is estimated as 38.5 GPa.