Nitrosyl azide is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and oxygen with the chemical formula N3−N=O. It is a highly labile nitrogen oxide with the empirical formula N4O.
Synthesis
Nitrosyl azide can be synthesized via the following reaction of sodium azide and nitrosyl chloride at low temperatures:
Properties
Below −50 °C, nitrosyl azide exists as a pale yellow solid. Above this temperature, it decomposes into nitrous oxide N2O and molecular nitrogen N2:1
Characterization of the compound with IR and Raman spectroscopy show absorption bands that agree well with calculated values for a trans-structure.23 Quantum chemical calculations show a cis-form higher in energy by 4.2 kJ/mol and an aromatic ring form (oxatetrazole N4O) that is more stable by 205 kJ/mol. However, the cyclization to the ring form would have to surpass the 205 kJ/mol activation energy barrier require to bend the azide group, which might explain why nitrosyl azide is stable enough to be isolated at low temperature.4
- Cotton, F. Albert & Geoffrey Wilkinson (1999). Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (6th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. p. 331. ISBN 0-471-19957-5.
References
Schulz, Axel; Tornieporth-Oetting, Inis C.; Klapötke, Thomas M. (1993). "Nitrosyl Azide, N4O, an Intrinsically Unstable Oxide of Nitrogen". Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. 32 (11): 1610–1612. doi:10.1002/anie.199316101. /wiki/Angewandte_Chemie_International_Edition_in_English ↩
Schulz, Axel; Tornieporth-Oetting, Inis C.; Klapötke, Thomas M. (1993). "Nitrosyl Azide, N4O, an Intrinsically Unstable Oxide of Nitrogen". Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. 32 (11): 1610–1612. doi:10.1002/anie.199316101. /wiki/Angewandte_Chemie_International_Edition_in_English ↩
Lucien, Harold W. (1958). "The Preparation and Properties of Nitrosyl Azide". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 80 (17): 4458–4460. doi:10.1021/ja01550a004. /wiki/Journal_of_the_American_Chemical_Society ↩
Schulz, Axel; Tornieporth-Oetting, Inis C.; Klapötke, Thomas M. (1993). "Nitrosyl Azide, N4O, an Intrinsically Unstable Oxide of Nitrogen". Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. 32 (11): 1610–1612. doi:10.1002/anie.199316101. /wiki/Angewandte_Chemie_International_Edition_in_English ↩