Magnesium nitride
Overview
Chemical formula
A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....
Mg3N2, is an inorganic compound
Inorganic compound
Inorganic compounds have traditionally been considered to be of inanimate, non-biological origin. In contrast, organic compounds have an explicit biological origin. However, over the past century, the classification of inorganic vs organic compounds has become less important to scientists,...
of magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
and nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
. At room temperature and pressure it is a greenish yellow powder.
Magnesium nitride reacts with water to produce ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
gas, as do many metal nitride
Nitride
In chemistry, a nitride is a compound of nitrogen where nitrogen has a formal oxidation state of −3. Nitrides are a large class of compounds with a wide range of properties and applications....
s.
- Mg3N2 + 6 H2O → 3 Mg(OH)2 + 2 NH3
Magnesium nitride can be produced by heating magnesium metal in a pure nitrogen atmosphere.
- 3 Mg + N2 → Mg3N2
In fact, when magnesium is burned in air, some magnesium nitride is formed in addition to the principal product, magnesium oxide
Magnesium oxide
Magnesium oxide , or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of magnesium . It has an empirical formula of and consists of a lattice of Mg2+ ions and O2– ions held together by ionic bonds...
.
Magnesium nitride was the catalyst in the first practical synthesis of borazon
Borazon
Borazon is a brand name of a cubic form of boron nitride . It is one of the hardest known materials, along with various forms of diamond and boron nitride. Borazon is a crystal created by heating equal quantities of boron and nitrogen at temperatures greater than 1800 °C at 7 GPa...
(cubic boron nitride
Boron nitride
Boron nitride is a chemical compound with chemical formula BN, consisting of equal numbers of boron and nitrogen atoms. BN is isoelectronic to a similarly structured carbon lattice and thus exists in various crystalline forms...
).
Robert H. Wentorf, Jr.
Robert H. Wentorf, Jr.
Robert H. Wentorf, Jr. was a staff scientist at General Electric Corporate Research and Development Laboratory in Schenectady, N.Y...
was trying to convert the hexagonal form of boron nitride into the cubic form by a combination of heat, pressure, and a catalyst.
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