Zinc arsenide (Zn3As2) is a binary compound of zinc with arsenic which forms gray tetragonal crystals. It is an inorganic semiconductor with a band gap of 1.0 eV.[2]

Zinc arsenide
Names
Other names
trizinc diarsenide
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.031.338 Edit this at Wikidata
EC Number
  • 234-486-2
  • InChI=1S/2As.3Zn
    Key: RHKSESDHCKYTHI-UHFFFAOYSA-N
  • [Zn].[Zn]=[As].[Zn]=[As]
Properties
Zn3As2
Molar mass 345.984 g/mol
Appearance Silver grey[1]
Density 5.53 g/cm3[1]
Melting point 1,015 °C (1,859 °F; 1,288 K)
Insoluble[1]
Structure
Tetragonal
Hazards
GHS labelling:
GHS05: CorrosiveGHS06: ToxicGHS08: Health hazard
Danger
H301, H331, H350, H410
P201, P202, P222, P231+P232, P261, P264, P270, P271, P273, P280, P281, P301+P310+P330, P304+P340, P308+P313, P321, P370+P378, P391, P403+P233, P405, P422, P501
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
NFPA 704 four-colored diamondHealth 4: Very short exposure could cause death or major residual injury. E.g. VX gasFlammability 0: Will not burn. E.g. waterInstability 0: Normally stable, even under fire exposure conditions, and is not reactive with water. E.g. liquid nitrogenSpecial hazards (white): no code
4
0
0
Safety data sheet (SDS) [1]
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).

Synthesis and reactions

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Zinc arsenide can be prepared by the reaction of zinc with arsenic

3 Zn + 2 As → Zn3As2

Structure

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Zn3As2 has a room-temperature tetragonal form that converts to a different tetragonal phase at 190 °C and to a third phase at 651 °C.[3] In the room-temperature form, the zinc atoms are tetrahedrally coordinated and the arsenic atoms are surrounded by six zinc atoms at the vertices of a distorted cube. The crystalline structure of zinc arsenide is very similar to that of cadmium arsenide (Cd3As2), zinc phosphide (Zn3P2) and cadmium phosphide (Cd3P2). These compounds of the Zn-Cd-P-As quaternary system exhibit full continuous solid-solution.[4]

Electronic structure

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Its lowest direct and indirect bandgaps are within 30 meV of each other.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "LTS Research Laboratories, Inc. Safety Data Sheet: Zinc Arsenide" (PDF). ltschem.com. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  2. ^ a b Botha, J. R.; Scriven, G. J.; Engelbrecht, J. A. A.; Leitch, A. W. R. (1999). "Photoluminescence properties of metalorganic vapor phase epitaxial Zn3As2". Journal of Applied Physics. 86 (10): 5614–5618. Bibcode:1999JAP....86.5614B. doi:10.1063/1.371569.
  3. ^ Okamoto, H. (1992). "The As-Zn (arsenic-zinc) system". Journal of Phase Equilibria. 13 (2): 155–161. doi:10.1007/BF02667479. S2CID 98798806.
  4. ^ Trukhan, V. M.; Izotov, A. D.; Shoukavaya, T. V. (2014). "Compounds and solid solutions of the Zn-Cd-P-As system in semiconductor electronics". Inorganic Materials. 50 (9): 868–873. doi:10.1134/S0020168514090143. S2CID 94409384.