Rational Design of Materials with Extreme Negative Compressibility: Selective Soft-Mode Frustration in KMn[Ag(CN)2]3

We show that KMn[Ag(CN)2]3 exhibits the strongest negative linear compressibility (NLC) effect over the largest pressure range yet observed. Variable pressure neutron powder diffraction measurements reveal that its crystal lattice expands along the c axis of its trigonal cell under increasing hydrostatic pressure, while contracting along the a axis. This corresponds to a “wine-rack”-like mechanism for NLC that we find also results in anisotropic negative thermal expansion (NTE) in the same material. Inclusion of extra-framework K+ counterions has minimal effect on framework flexibility (and hence the magnitude of NTE/NLC) but selectively frustrates the soft phonon modes responsible for destroying NLC in the related material Ag3[Co(CN)6].