Thermal expansion of boron subnitrides

The lattice parameters of two boron subnitrides, B13N2 and B50N2, have been measured as a function of temperature between 298 and 1273 K, and the corresponding thermal expansion coefficients have been determined. Thermal expansion of both boron subnitrides was found to be quasi-linear, and the volume thermal expansion coefficients of B50N2 (15.7(2) 10-6 K-1) and B13N2 (21.3(2) 10-6 K-1) are of the same order of magnitude as those of boron-rich compounds with structure related to {\alpha}-rhombohedral boron. For both boron subnitrides no temperature-induced phase transitions have been observed in the temperature range under study.