This work describes temperature-induced crystallization processes and reaction mechanisms occurring in the borohydride-imidazolate system. In the course of thermal evolution, crystal structures of two novel bimetallic imidazolates AMnIm3 (A = Na, K) were solved using synchrotron radiation powder diffraction data. Both the alkali metal cation and the Mn cations exhibit distorted octahedral coordination while each imidazolate is surrounded by two alkali metal and two manganese atoms. Extensive study of the thermal expansion behaviour revealed that the expansion of the bimetallic imidazolates does not proceed uniformly over the entire temperature range but rather abruptly changes from a colossal negative to a moderate positive volume expansion. Such behaviour is caused by the coherent intergrowth of the coexisting phases which form a composite, a positive lattice mismatch and a tensile strain during the coexistence of NaMIm3 (M = Mg and Mn) and NaIm or HT-NaIm. Such coherent coalescence of two materials opens the possibility for targeted design of zero thermal expansion materials.
Graphical abstract: Crystal structures of AMnIm3 (A = Na, K) were determined. Coherently intergrown NaMIm3/NaIm (M = Mg, Mn) present colossal negative thermal expansion.
Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10853-022-07360-z.
© The Author(s) 2022.