KN3, RbN3, CsN3, and TlN3 adopt the same structures. They crystallize in a tetragonal habit.[5] The azide is bound to eight cations in an eclipsed orientation. The cations are bound to eight terminal N centers.[6]
Upon heating or upon irradiation with ultraviolet light, it decomposes into potassium metal and nitrogen gas.[9] The decomposition temperatures of the alkali metal azides are: NaN3 (275 °C), KN3 (355 °C), RbN3 (395 °C), CsN3 (390 °C).[10]
Under high pressures and high temperatures, potassium azide was found to transform into the K2N6 and K9N56 compounds, both containing hexazine rings: N2− 6 and N64-, respectively.[11][12]
^T. D. Hughes; L. F. Welch (1970). "Potassium Azide as a Nitrification Inhibitor". Agronomy Journal. 62 (5). American Society of Agronomy: 595–599. doi:10.2134/agronj1970.00021962006200050013x.
^Khilji, M. Y.; Sherman, W. F.; Wilkinson, G. R. (1982). "Variable temperature and pressure Raman spectra of potassium azide". Journal of Raman Spectroscopy. 12 (3): 300–303. Bibcode:1982JRSp...12..300K. doi:10.1002/jrs.1250120319.
^Ulrich Müller "Verfeinerung der Kristallstrukturen von KN3, RbN3, CsN3 und TIN3" Zeitschrift für anorganische und allgemeine Chemie 1972, Volume 392, 159–166. doi:10.1002/zaac.19723920207
^P. W. Schenk "Alkali Azides from Carbonates" in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. Edited by G. Brauer, Academic Press, 1963, NY. Vol. 1. p. 475.
^ abHorst H. Jobelius, Hans-Dieter Scharff "Hydrazoic Acid and Azides" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a13_193
^Tompkins, F. C.; Young, D. A. (1982). "The Photochemical and Thermal Formation of Colour Centres in Potassium Azide Crystals". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. 236 (1204): 10–23.
^E. Dönges "Alkali Metals" in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. Edited by G. Brauer, Academic Press, 1963, NY. Vol. 1. p. 475
^Wang, Yu; Bykov, Maxim; Chepkasov, Ilya; Samtsevich, Artem; Bykova, Elena; Zhang, Xiao; Jiang, Shu-qing; Greenberg, Eran; Chariton, Stella; Prakapenka, Vitali B.; Oganov, Artem R.; Goncharov, Alexander F. (21 April 2022). "Stabilization of hexazine rings in potassium polynitride at high pressure". Nature Chemistry. 14 (7): 794–800. arXiv:2010.15995. Bibcode:2022NatCh..14..794W. doi:10.1038/s41557-022-00925-0. PMID35449217. S2CID226222305.
