Properties and Reactions
Nitrous oxide is a colorless, non-toxic gas with a faint, sweet odor. It dissolves in water to give a neutral solution. The equilibrium that exists when nitrous oxide is dissolved in water lies far to the left:
- N2O + H2O ⇌ H2N2O2
Nitrous oxide supports combustion by releasing the dative-bonded oxygen radical, thus it can relight a glowing splint. N2O is inert at room temperature and has few reactions, at elevated temperatures, its reactivity increases. For example, nitrous oxide reacts with NaNH2 at 460K to give NaN3
- 2 NaNH2 + N2O → NaN3 + NaOH + NH3
The above reaction is actually the route adopted by commercial chemical industry to produce azide salts, which is used as a detonator.
Read more about this topic: Nitrous Oxide
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