| Citation: | Jingyi Zhang, Shengxuan Huang, Shan Qin, Stella Chariton, Vitali B. Prakapenka, Bin Chen. Chemical Stability and Thermal Equation of State of Si3N4: Implications for Nitrogen Storage in the Deep Earth. Journal of Earth Science, 2026, 37(4): 1584-1593. doi: 10.1007/s12583-024-0014-3
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Most nitrogen is predicted to reside in the Earth's interior and could be in the form of nitrides. In this study, the chemical reaction of Si3N4 with SiO2 was explored up to 50 GPa and 2 600 K using laser-heated diamond anvil cells combined with synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction. The experimental results demonstrate that Si3N4 does not react with SiO2 and cubic γ-Si3N4 remains stable at extreme pressure and temperature. First-principles calculations were performed to investigate the chemical stability of Si3N4 with the SiO2-MgO assemblage, showing that Si3N4 can coexist with Mg2SiO4 and MgSiO3 polymorphs. Based on our thermal equation of state of cubic γ-Si3N4, we suggest that cubic γ-Si3N4 is denser than the upper mantle but less dense than the lower mantle. The formation of Si3N4 in the early Earth may contribute to the nitrogen preservation in the deep mantle soon after crystallization of the mantle and Si3N4 is likely a precursor of nitrogen hosts in the modern deep Earth.
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