Structure of Hydrazoic Acid and Its Azide Derivatives
When we think of nitrogen and hydrogen, we are likely to think first of ammonia, NH3. But what of hydrazoic acid? Hydrazoic acid is HN3. It looks to be the opposite of ammonia. What is the chemical structure of hydrazoic acid and its azide derivatives? And why are they of importance to us? Valence Consideration When we think of hydrogen, we think of a +1 valence, though at times it is assigned a –1 valence. Similarly, nitrogen ordinarily assumes either a +3 or a +5 valence. Both ammonia and hydrazoic acid exhibit a +3 valence for nitrogen. All of this is well and good, but what is the structure of ammonia? of hydrazoic acid and the azides? In both instances, we may be surprised that what we imagine may not…