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Nitrogen Compounds
   Chloramine
   Dinitrogen tetroxide
   Nitric oxide
   Nitric dioxide
   Nitrogen trichloride
   Nitrogen triiodide
   Nitrous oxide
   Urea phosphate
   Nitric acid
Chloramine NH2Cl
Commonly used in low concentrations as a disinfectant in municipal water systems as an alternative to chlorination. Water treated with chloramine lacks the distinct chlorine odour of the gaseous treatment and so has improved taste.
Aquarium owners must remove the chloramine from their tap water because it is toxic to fish. Many animals are sensitive to chloramine and it must be removed from water given to many animals in zoos.
Dinitrogen tetroxide N2O4
Dinitrogen tetroxide is one of the most important rocket propellants ever developed and by the late 1950s it became the storable oxidizer of choice for rockets in both the USA and USSR.
Nitric oxide NO
: Irritant :
It is an important signaling molecule in the body of mammals including humans, one of the few gaseous signaling molecules known. It is also a toxic air pollutant produced by automobile engines and power plants.
The nitric oxide molecule is a free radical, which makes it very reactive and unstable. In air, it quickly reacts with oxygen to form the poisonous nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
Nitric dioxide NO2
: Highly Toxic :
It is one of several nitrogen oxides (NOx). This orange/brown gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor. NO2 is one of the most prominent air pollutants and a poison by inhalation.
Nitrogen trichloride NCl3
: Explosive :
A yellow, oily, pungent-smelling liquid, often found as a byproduct of chemical reactions between nitrogen-containing compounds and chlorine.
Nitrogen trichloride is a very strong explosive; an explosion involving it blinded Sir Humphry Davy temporarily, and forced him to take on Michael Faraday as a worker. This was in part because some of Davy's junior lab workers had recently been fired for fighting. Nitrogen trichloride is incredibly sensitive; it will explode upon exposure to cold or hot temperatures, sunlight, or organic substances such as turpentine.
Nitrogen triiodide NI3
Also called nitrogen iodide, is a highly explosive compound of nitrogen and iodine. It is a contact explosive, and small quantities explode with a gunpowder-like snap when touched by even a feather, releasing a volatile cloud of iodine vapour.
Small amounts of nitrogen triiodide are sometimes synthesized as a demonstration to chemistry students. However, because the compound is so unstable, it has not been used in blasting caps or primers for explosives.
The reason for it's instability is due to the size difference between the two different types of atoms. The three iodine atoms are much bigger than the nitrogen atom holding them together. Because of this, not only is the bond between nuclei under much stress and therefore weaker, but the outside electrons of the different iodine atoms are very close, which increases the overall instability of the molecule.
Nitrous oxide N2O
Under room conditions, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, with a pleasant, slightly-sweet odour. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anaesthetic and analgesic effects, where it is commonly known as laughing gas due to the euphoric effects of inhaling it. It is also used as an oxidizer in internal combustion engines. Nitrous oxide is present in the atmosphere where it acts as a powerful greenhouse gas.
The gas was discovered by Joseph Priestley in 1772, who called it phlogisticated nitrous air (see phlogiston). Humphry Davy in the 1790s tested the gas on himself and some of his friends, including the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. They soon realised that nitrous oxide considerably dulled the sensation of pain, even if the inhaler were still semi-conscious. And so it came into use as an anaesthetic, particularly by dentists, who do not typically have access to the services of an anesthesiologist and who may benefit from a patient who can respond to verbal commands.
Urea phosphate CO(NH2)2H3PO4
It is made by reacting urea with phosphoric acid (H3PO4). It is sometimes used as a fertilizer.
Nitric acid HNO3
Nitric acid, otherwise known as aqua fortis or spirit of nitre, is a colourless, corrosive liquid, a toxic acid which can cause severe burns. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming nitric acid, and can be separated into two kinds of fuming acids, white fuming nitric acid and red fuming nitric acid.
Commonly used as a laboratory reagent, nitric acid is used in the manufacture of explosives such as nitroglycerin, trinitrotoluene (TNT) and Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), as well as fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate.
It has additional uses in metallurgy and refining as it reacts with most metals, and in organic syntheses. When combined with hydrochloric acid, it forms aqua regia, one of the few reagents capable of dissolving gold and platinum.