Ammonium Nitrite Formula

Ammonium nitrite can be defined as a chemical compound containing atoms of nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen, it can also be defined as the ammonium salt of nitrous acid. Ammonium nitrite is highly unstable in the pure form due to this reason they are never used in pure form and is always used as a conjugate. This article focuses on the chemical formula for ammonium nitrite, the structural formula of the ammonium nitrite, its uses, and its properties.

The Formula for Ammonium Nitrite

The chemical formula of the chemical compound called ammonium nitrite can be represented as  NH\[_{4}\]NO\[_{2}\]. The ammonium nitrite formula represents that the compound is made up of nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen atoms.  The IUPAC name of the formula is azanium nitrite. The alternative way of representation of the formula for ammonium nitrite is H\[_{4}\]N\[_{2}\]O\[_{2}\]. The common representation used for the structural formula for ammonium nitrite is 

[Image will be Uploaded Soon]

In its pure form, the chemical compound decomposes very quickly to generate nitrogen and water, this decomposition takes place at room temperature.

Preparation of Ammonium Nitrite

There are various methods of preparation of ammonium salt which include some natural methods and some chemical preparative methods. Some of the methods of preparation of the ammonium nitrite are mentioned below.

1. They are naturally prepared in the air by the process of absorption, the nitric oxide and the nitrogen dioxide are absorbed in equal parts in the presence of liquid ammonia to produce the ammonium nitrite chemical compound.

2. The second method involves the formation of the compound through precipitation. In this process, nitrite or barium is precipitated with the following compounds, ammonium sulfate, potassium nitrite with ammonium perchlorate, or ammonium chloride. The precipitates filtered out. The precipitate is in crystal form, they are colorless, and is soluble in water. The crystal is of ammonium nitrite, the ammonium nitrite formula is NH\[_{4}\]NO\[_{2}\].

3. The third method is the most widely used industrial method of preparation of the chemical compound. The method involves oxidation. The ammonia undergoes an oxidation reaction in presence of ozone to yield a colorless crystal of ammonium nitrite. Hydrogen peroxide can also be used as a replacement for the ozone. 

4. Another method is a reaction between silver nitrate and ammonium chloride, ammonium nitrite is also formed as a product. The chemical formula of ammonium nitrite is written as NH\[_{4}\]NO\[_{2}\]. The chemical reaction can be represented as

 2AgNO\[_{2}\] + NH\[_{4}\]Cl → NH\[_{4}\]NO\[_{2}\] + 2AgCl

Chemical Properties of the Compound

The chemical properties of their compound include ammonium nitrite formula, molecular weight, hydrogen bond donor and acceptor count, solubility in water, and pH. Some of the chemical properties of the compound are listed below

1. The ammonium nitrite formula can be represented as NH\[_{4}\]NO\[_{2}\].

2. The alternative representation of the chemical formula of ammonium nitrite is H\[_{4}\]N\[_{2}\]O\[_{2}\].

3. The molecular weight of the compound is 64.044 g/mol 

4. The solubility of ammonium nitrite in water is 64.3 g/100g at 19.15\[^{0}\]C

5. Ammonium nitrite is a basic compound that is the pH of the comp[ound is higher than 7.

6. The other important ions include sodium nitrite and ammonium nitrate.

Physical Properties of Ammonium Nitrite

The physical properties include melting point, boiling point, appearance, and density. Some of the physical properties are mentioned below

1. The density of ammonium nitrite is 1.69 g cm\[^{-3}\]

2. It is found as a white crystal.

3. The compound is colorless

4. It decomposes at the melting point. the decomposition reaction is one of the major chemical reaction which can be represented by the following chemical reaction

NH\[_{4}\]NO\[_{2}\]→ N\[_{2}\] + 2H\[_{2}\]0

5. There is a high probability of explosion at temperatures 60 to 70 \[^{0}\]C.

Uses

The uses of ammonium nitrite are mentioned as follows.

1. It is used as a micro biocide,

2. It is used as a rodenticide,

3. It is also used as agricultural pesticides.

4. It is also used in the production of nitrogen gas.

5. It is also used for the production of ammonium cobalt-nitrite

6. The most common use of ammonium nitrite is the use of compounds in manufacturing explosives.

Safety Hazards

It is well understood that ammonium nitrite is highly explosive, apart from this the compound is highly toxic for humans as well as aquatic animals. During heating the crystal, toxic fumes of ammonia and nitrogen gas are produced which are potentially lethal when present in direct contact.

Conclusion

The ammonium nitrite can be defined as the ammonium salt of nitrous acid. The IUPAC name of the compound is azanium nitrite. The ammonium nitrite chemical formula is written as NH\[^{4}\]NO\[^{0}\]. Another representation of the ammonium nitrite formula is H\[^{4}\]N\[^{2}\]O\[^{2}\]. The chemical compound is basic in nature and is mainly used in the production of explosives.