G-2 Assignment#1

Inorganic Chemistry

Nitrogen
Group-2 Assignment#1
Topic:

Acids of Nitrogen,
Preparations, Reactions, Lab
and Industrial Uses.

Group member:

Hiba kalsoom, Iman Naseer

Sabeeha, Ayesha Aslam,
Areeba Iliyas, Jannat, Sharher
Bano
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G-2 Assignment#1

Acids of nitrogen
Acids:
An acid is any substance that in water solution tastes sour, changes
blue litmus paper to red, reacts with some metals to liberate hydrogen,
reacts with bases to form salts, and promotes chemical reactions.

 Example of acid:
The citric acid found in citrus fruits like lemon, oranges, and
grapefruit is an example of an acid. Other example is hydrochloric acid
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found in the stomach, sulfuric acid used in batteries, and acetic acid found
in vinegar.

 Nitrogen acids:
The acids which contain nitrogen are known as nitrogen acids.

 Example:
1. Nitric acid, HNO3.
2. Nitrous acid, HNO2. 3 .Hypo nitrous acid,H2N2O.
 Important acids of Nitrogen:
The important acids of nitrogen are given below:-

 Nitric acid
 Nitrous acid
 Hypo nitrous acid
 Description:-

There detail is given below:-

 Nitric acid:
Nitric acid is the most important and useful oxoacid of
nitrogen. It contains one hydrogen atom, one nitrogen atom, and three
oxygen atoms. It is a very strong oxidizing agent and is quite useful.
Nitrogen is shown with an oxidation state of \ (+5\) in nitric acid.

 Properties:

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1: Pure nitric acid is a colorless fuming liquid with a pungent odour.

However, impure nitric acid is yellow due to the presence of
dissolved oxides of nitrogen.
2: Fuming nitric acid is a pure nitric acid containing oxides of
nitrogen dissolved in it.
3D structure of nitric acid:

 Structure of HNO3 Molecules:

 Preparation:
i. Nitric acid is usually prepared by heating potassium nitrate
or sodium nitrate with concentrated sulphuric acid.
ii. Heating is done in a glass retort, and the vapors of nitric
acid are condensed in a receiver which is cooled by water.
Diagram:

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Ostwald process:
The Ostwald process is the industrial process for producing nitric
acid. The process involves the oxidation of ammonia to nitrogen
dioxide, which is then absorbed in water to form nitric acid.

 Reactions:
i. With Hydroxides
ii. With Metals
iii. With Oxides

I. Reaction with Hydroxides:

NaOH (aq ) + HNO3 ( aq ) → NaNO3 ( aq ) + H2O ( l )
Sodium hydroxide, a base reacts with nitric acid, an acid and forms
sodium nitrate, a salt, and water thus, it is a neutralization reaction. And
hence, nitric acid is acting as an acid in the reaction.

II. Reaction with Metals:

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3Cu ( s ) + 8 HNO 3 ( l ) →2Cu ( NO3) ( s ) + 2NO ( g ) + 4H 2O( l)

The reaction between copper sulphate and nitric acid is a single
displacement reaction, in which the copper ions of copper sulphate react
with the hydrogen ions of nitric acid to form copper nitrate and water.

III. Reaction with Oxides:

CuO+2HNO3 → Cu (NO3)2+H2O
When cupric oxide reacts with dilute nitric acid, it forms copper nitrate
and water.

 Laboratory uses:
When cupric oxide reacts with dilute nitric acid, it forms copper nitrate
and water.
It is a pH buffer, cleaning agent, and a preservative for water samples
requiring metal analysis.

 Industrial uses:
Nitric acid is used in the production of ammonium nitrate and calcium
ammonium nitrate which find applications as fertilizers.
Ammonium nitrate is also used in the manufacturing of urea ammonium
nitrate (UAN) used in fertilizer formulations and also as explosives.

Flow diagram:

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 Nitrous acid:
Nitrous acid is unstable and weakly acidic compound. It is an oxoacid of
nitrogen. It is obtained by acidification of nitrite salt with mineral acid.
Nitrous acid is a mixture of nitric acid and nitrous gas but with a smaller
of proportion oxygen than what exists in nitric acid.

 Properties:
It is strongly acidic, extremely volatile and rises in thick fumes; boils at
a low temperature of 82oC and the specific gravity is 1.45
In vapour state, nitrous acid remains unchanged by the action of heat.
Gaseous nitrous acid, which is rarely encountered, decomposes into
nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, and water.
Its odour is unpleasantly bitter or pungent. As it appears in pale blue
solution.

 Structure of HNO3 Molecule:

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 Preparation:
Nitrous acid is unstable and prepared always in situ and written as
HONO to represent its structure.
In every reaction, the amine is acidified with hydrochloric acid, adding a
solution of sodium nitrite. The nitrite and the acid form nitrous acid,
which reacts with the amine.
Alternatively, nitrous acid is also produced by dissolving dinitrogen
trioxide in water. N2O3 + H2O → 2 HNO2

 Reactions:
With Alcohol:
Nitrous acid reacts rapidly with aliphatic alcohols to produce alkyl
nitrites,

As the organic compound (C3H9N) (A) when treated with the Nitrous
acid gives alcohol and also there's an evolution of N2 gas.

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So, the compound should have to be the primary amine because only
the primary amine on reaction with the Nitrous acid gives alcohol with
the evolution of N2.

This Nitrous test is basically used for distinguishing between primary,

secondary and tertiary amines.

 Uses:
1. Used in the preparation of diazonium salts from amines and in the
preparation of azoic dyes in Sandmeyer reaction.
2. Used to remove the toxic nature of potentially explosive compound
sodium azide.
3. Nitrous acid is also used as an oxidizer in liquid fuel rockets.
4. It is used to purify and clean noble metals like platinum, gold and
silver.
5. Nitrous acid is the main chemphore in the Liebermann reagent, and it
is used to spot-test for alkaloids.
3D Structure of nitrous acid:

 Hypo nitro acid:

Hypo nitrous acid is a chemical compound with formula H2N2O2 or
HON=NOH .It is an isomer of nitramide, H2N−NO2; and a formal dimer
of azanone, HNO .It forms two series of salts,
2−
the hyponitrites containing the [ON=NO] anion, and the "acid
hyponitrites" containing the [HON=NO]− anion.[1]

 Properties:
Hypo nitrous acid forms white crystals that are explosive when dry. In
aqueous solution, it is a weak acid (pK a1 = 7.21, pKa2 = 11.54), and

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decomposes to nitrous oxide and water with a half life of 16 days at 25

°C at pH 1–3.
Its conjugate base is Hypo nitrite.
 Structure of H2N2O2:
Diagram:

 Preparation:
The hyponitrous acid can be synthesized through treating a reaction
with a silver (I) hyponitrite (Ag2N2O2) and anhydrous hydrochloric
acid (HCl) in the presence of ether medium. The reaction can be
understood from the below equation.

Ag2N2O2+2HCl→ H2N2O2+2AgCl

In the above reaction, the N2O is anhydrite and the acid cannot be
prepared using an aqueous solution (water). Therefore, the hyponitrous
acid is treated with air to obtain nitric and nitrous acid through the
reaction below:

2 H2N2O2 + 3 O2→ 2 HNO3+ 2 HNO2

Finally, to obtain hyponitrite salts, the nitrate or nitrite undergoes a

reduction reaction with sodium amalgam as a catalyst in a water
medium. The reaction results in the formation of Cis and Trans structure
of hypo nitrous acid.

 Reactions:
With hydrogen chloride:
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Hydrogen chloride reacts with hyponitrous acid to yield hydrazinium

chloride, atomic hydrogen, and water.

H2N2O2+HCl+3H2→N2H5Cl+ H2+H2O

 Laboratory uses:
Hypo nitrous Acid plays a significant role in a catalytic reaction where
it acts as hyponitrite reductase and an isomer of nitramide.
It can be used as a reducing agent, precursor to nitrous oxide, and in
chemical synthesis.
This acid plays a key role in enzymology, where a hyponitrite reductase
enzyme catalyzes the chemical reaction.

 Industrial uses:
Industrially, hyponitrous acid plays a role in the production of
pharmaceuticals and dyes. It is specifically instrumental in the reduction
of metal ions to their lower oxidation states.
For example, it can reduce copper(II) oxide to copper(I) oxide, which is
useful in certain industrial applications.

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