Why is nitrogen non reactive?

The strength of N2 triple bond makes the molecule very unreactive because it requires a large amount of energy to break the bond. Nitrogen does not react readily as its bonds are strong making it stable. N2 is used as an inert gas also.

Why is nitrogen unreactive 12?

As the nitrogen is very stable, it’s activation energy to break the nitrogen-nitrogen triple bond is very high which makes the nitrogen unreactive. Therefore, due to the very stable triple bond and requirement of high activation energy, the nitrogen is unreactive.

Why is N2 less reactive than O2?

N2 is less reactive than O2 in most gaseous reactions because there is a strong triple bond between the atoms, all the valence electrons are in bonding orbitals, and more energy is needed to excite them.

Why nitrogen is more reactive than oxygen?

O2 has two more electrons compared to N2, with extra 2 electrons in the higher energy anti-bonding orbitals known as Diradical. These electrons have higher energy and are unpaired; therefore, O2 is more reactive.

Why does nitrogen show poor tendency towards Catenation?

Nitrogen does not show property of catenation. Since N – N single bond is very weak due to large interelectronic repulsions between the lone pairs of electrons present on the N-atoms of N – N bond having small bond length.

Why electron gain enthalpy of nitrogen is positive?

Nitrogen has stable half filled configuration and therefore it has no tendency to accept electron therefore, energy has to be supplied in order to add an electron to it. Thus, nitrogen has positive electron gain enthalpy.

Why is nitrogen less reactive than oxygen?

Atomic nitrogen and atomic oxygen don’t exist under “normal” conditions because each forms molecules N2 and O2. N2 is less reactive than O2 in most gaseous reactions because there is a strong triple bond between the atoms, all the valence electrons are in bonding orbitals, and more energy is needed to excite them.

Why is molecular nitrogen less reactive than molecular oxygen?

Bond order of N2=3, bond order of O2=2. Higher the bond order, shorter is the bond length and higher is the bond dissociation energy i.e., higher stability or lesser reactivity. Thus, N2 is less reactive than O2.

Why does nitrogen show anomalous properties with respect to other elements in group 15?

2.9 Anomalous behaviour of nitrogen – Nitrogen being the lightest member of the group shows anomalous properties compared to other group 15 elements. This is due to small size, high ionization enthalpy, absence of d-orbitals and high electronegativity.

Why does the reactivity of nitrogen differ from phosphorus?

Nitrogen is chemically less reactive. It is because of nitrogen’s small size that it is able to form pπ-pπ bonds with itself. This property is not exhibited by atoms such as phosphorus. Thus, phosphorus is more reactive than nitrogen.

Why nitrogen has less electron affinity than oxygen?

Nitrogen has a half-filled p orbital. The number of electrons in the p orbital in nitrogen is three. Nitrogen, therefore, does not accept more electrons as it has a stable configuration. Therefore, nitrogen has a lower electron affinity than carbon and oxygen.