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Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula NH 4 NO 3. It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer. [5]
The following chart shows the solubility of various ionic compounds in water at 1 atm pressure and room temperature (approx. 25 °C, 298.15 K). "Soluble" means the ionic compound doesn't precipitate, while "slightly soluble" and "insoluble" mean that a solid will precipitate; "slightly soluble" compounds like calcium sulfate may require heat to precipitate.
In the NO − 3 anion, the oxidation state of the central nitrogen atom is V (+5). This corresponds to the highest possible oxidation number of nitrogen. Nitrate is a potentially powerful oxidizer as evidenced by its explosive behaviour at high temperature when it is detonated in ammonium nitrate (NH 4 NO 3), or black powder, ignited by the shock wave of a primary explosive.
Bonds with partially ionic and partially covalent characters are called polar covalent bonds. [2] Ionic compounds conduct electricity when molten or in solution, typically not when solid. Ionic compounds generally have a high melting point, depending on the charge of the ions they consist of. The higher the charges the stronger the cohesive ...
Industrially, ammonia (NH 3) is the most important compound of nitrogen and is prepared in larger amounts than any other compound, because it contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilisers. It is a colourless alkaline gas with a characteristic pungent smell.
After that, all four N−H bonds are equivalent, being polar covalent bonds. The ion has a tetrahedral structure and is isoelectronic with methane and the borohydride anion. In terms of size, the ammonium cation (r ionic = 175 pm) [citation needed] resembles the caesium cation (r ionic = 183 pm). [citation needed]
Nonmetals, including (to a limited extent) xenon and probably radon, usually exist as anions or oxyanions in aqueous solution; they generally form ionic or covalent compounds when combined with metals (unlike metals, which mostly form alloys with other metals); and have acidic oxides whereas the common oxides of nearly all metals are basic.
As a quantum-mechanical description, Pauling proposed that the wave function for a polar molecule AB is a linear combination of wave functions for covalent and ionic molecules: ψ = aψ(A:B) + bψ(A + B −). The amount of covalent and ionic character depends on the values of the squared coefficients a 2 and b 2. [4]