The azide ion (N₃⁻) has a linear structure with a total of 16 valence electrons. It consists of three nitrogen (N) atoms, with the middle N atom bonded to the other two N atoms through double bonds. The Lewis structure depicts these double bonds and a lone pair of electrons on each terminal N atom. The central N atom carries a negative charge. Azide ion is resonance stabilized, with three equivalent resonance structures, each showing a different N atom bearing the negative charge. The electronegativity of nitrogen (3.04) and the high electron density contribute to N₃⁻’s reactivity and its role as a nucleophile in chemical reactions.
Only three nitrogen atoms make up the azoide ion (N3–). Two N=N bonds are present in the Lewis structure of the N3– ion. Outside nitrogen atoms contain two lone pairs, whereas the core nitrogen atom has none.
- N3– Lewis Structure
- N3– lewis structure octet rule
- N3– lewis structure resonance
- N3– Molecular Geometry
- N3– lewis structure formal charge
- N3– lewis structure angle
- N3– Hybridization
The left and right nitrogen atoms have a negative (-1) charge, whereas the central nitrogen atom has a positive (+1) charge.
1. N3– Lewis Structure:
Here’s a step-by-step guide on drawing the N3– Lewis structure.
Step 1: draw sketch
• To begin, count the total amount of valence electrons.
Nitrogen is in group 15 of the periodic table. As a result of this, nitrogen has five valence electrons.
Because N3– contains three nitrogen atoms,
Three nitrogen atoms’ valence electrons = 5 × 3 = 15
Because the N3– now has a negative (-1) charge, we must add another electron.
As a result, there are 15 + 1 = 16 valence electrons altogether
• Next, calculate the total number of electron pairs.
In total, there are 16 valence electrons. Divide this value by two to get the total number of electron pairs.
Total electron pairs = total valence electrons divided by 2
As a result, there are 16 ÷ 2 = 8 total electron pairs.
• Decide on the centre atom third.
We may consider any of the three atoms as the centre atom because they are all nitrogen.
Let’s pretend that the centre atom is nitrogen.
• Finally, do a rough drawing.
Step 2: Identify lone pairings
We have a total of eight electron pairs here. Two N-N bonds have previously been identified. As a result, we just need to label the remaining six electron pairs on the drawing as lone pairs.
Remember that because nitrogen is a period 2 element, it can only have 8 electrons in its final shell.
Always begin by identifying lone pairs from exterior atoms. The outer atoms are nitrogen, both left and right.
So there are three lone pairs for left and right nitrogen, and zero lone pairs for canter nitrogen because all six electron pairs have been used up.
On the drawing, draw the following lone pairs:
Step 3: Charges for marking
Using the following formula, calculate the formal charges on atoms:
Formal charge = valence electrons – nonbonding electrons – ½ bonding electrons
Formal charge = 5 – 6 –½ (2) = -2 for left and right nitrogen atoms.
Formal charge for core nitrogen atom = 5 – 0 – ½ (4) = +3
Because all nitrogen atoms have charges in this situation, draw them as follows:
Because all nitrogen atoms have charges, the structure below is not a stable Lewis structure. As a result, convert lone pairs to bonds to lower the costs.
Step 4: reduce charges
Make a new N-N bond with the centre nitrogen atom by converting a lone pair of the left nitrogen atom.
Step 5: Charges should be reduced once again
Because nitrogen atoms have charges, build a new N-N bond with the centre nitrogen atom by converting a lone pair of the right nitrogen atom as follows:
The core atom (centre nitrogen) forms an octet in the structure shown above. As a result, the octet rule is met.
On the atoms, there are still charges.
This is acceptable since the ideal Lewis structure has a negative charge on the most electronegative element. Nitrogen is the most electronegative element in this circumstance.
As a result, this structure is N3-‘s most stable Lewis structure.
Because the N3- has a negative (-1) charge, add brackets to the Lewis structure to indicate that charge:
2. N3– lewis structure octet rule:
A N3– ion has eight valence electrons in total.
N has 5 valence electrons, and its configuration is 1s22s22p3, therefore N-3 has 3 additional electrons, and its octet is complete.
3. N3– lewis structure resonance:
The azide ion has resonance structures that may be calculated. These are displayed below.
The presence of triple bonds and the lack of an octet in the aforementioned resonance configurations make the ion unstable. A double charge on a tiny atom-like Nitrogen is unusual among the triple bound resonance structures.
The lack of an octet in the later two causes relative instability. As a result, we’ll look at the Lewis structure with double bonds and a full octet illustrated above.
4. N3– Molecular Geometry:
The Lewis structure of a chemical provides information on the molecular geometry and electronic shape of that molecule.
Three nitrogen atoms make up the Azide Lewis structure. With the nitrogen atoms around it, the central nitrogen atom creates two double bonds. The atoms will reject each other, resulting in a Linear Geometry, according to the VSEPR hypothesis.
The A-X-N approach can be used to validate this.
The core atom Nitrogen is represented by the letter ‘A’. As a result, ‘A’ equals 1.
The number of atoms bound to the centre atom is denoted by the letter ‘X.’ In this example, two additional Nitrogen atoms are connected to the core nitrogen atom.
As a result, X = 2.
The number of lone pairs connecting to the centre atom is represented by the symbol “N.”
There are no lone pairings in this example, thus N = 0.
As a result, the Azide ion would be designated as AX2 (N3–)
An AX2 arrangement may be shown to match to a Linear Molecular geometry.
5. N3– lewis structure formal charge:
Formal charge = (Number of valence e− in free neutral atom) −1/2(Number of bonding e−) − (Number of non-bonding e−)
We can determine formal charge on using the preceding equation.
N1: 5−2−4 = −1
N2: 5−4−0 = +1
N3: 5−2−4 = −1
6. N3– lewis structure angle:
According to the VSEPR theory, the nitrogen atoms present will reject each other and arrange themselves in a linear pattern. This results in 180° bond angles.
7. N3– Hybridization:
To identify the hybridization of the central atom, the Lewis structure of the Azide ion must be investigated.
Through double bonds, the core Nitrogen atom is chemically connected to two nearby Nitrogen atoms. We can rapidly establish the hybridization from this data since we already explored the idea of electron regions.
The centre Nitrogen atom is surrounded by two areas. As a result, the Azide ion’s hybridization is determined to be sp.
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Hi….I am D N Madhusudan, I have completed my master’s in General Chemistry from the University of Mysore. Apart from this, I like to read and listen to Music.
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