All Topics  
Nitrogen trichloride

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Nitrogen trichloride
 
 
  Topics Nitrogen trichloride Topic Home

Nitrogen trichloride, also known as trichloramine, trichlorine nitride is the chemical compound
Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a Chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical element Chemical bond together in a fixed mass ratio that can be split into simpler substances....
 with the formula
Chemical formula

A chemical formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound, and how the relationship between those atoms changes in chemical reactions....
 NCl3. This yellow, oily, pungent-smelling liquid is most commonly encountered as a byproduct of chemical reaction
Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that always results in the interconversion of chemical substances. The substance or substances initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants....
s between ammonia
Ammonia

Ammonia is a chemical compound with the chemical formula nitrogenhydrogen. It is normally encountered as a gas with a characteristic pungent odor....
-derivatives and chlorine
Chlorine

Chlorine...
 (for example, in swimming pool
Swimming pool

A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is an artificially enclosed body of water intended for swimming or water-based recreation....
s between disinfecting chlorine and urea
Urea

Urea is an organic compound with the chemical formula 2carbonoxygen.Urea is also known by the International Nonproprietary Name carbamide, as established by the World Health Organization....
 in urine from bathers). In pure form, NCl3 is highly reactive. Nitrogen trichloride can form in small amounts when public water supplies are disinfected with monochloramine, and at given levels it can irritate mucous membranes.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Nitrogen trichloride'
Start a new discussion about 'Nitrogen trichloride'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Nitrogen trichloride, also known as trichloramine, trichlorine nitride is the chemical compound
Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a Chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical element Chemical bond together in a fixed mass ratio that can be split into simpler substances....
 with the formula
Chemical formula

A chemical formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound, and how the relationship between those atoms changes in chemical reactions....
 NCl3. This yellow, oily, pungent-smelling liquid is most commonly encountered as a byproduct of chemical reaction
Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that always results in the interconversion of chemical substances. The substance or substances initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants....
s between ammonia
Ammonia

Ammonia is a chemical compound with the chemical formula nitrogenhydrogen. It is normally encountered as a gas with a characteristic pungent odor....
-derivatives and chlorine
Chlorine

Chlorine...
 (for example, in swimming pool
Swimming pool

A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is an artificially enclosed body of water intended for swimming or water-based recreation....
s between disinfecting chlorine and urea
Urea

Urea is an organic compound with the chemical formula 2carbonoxygen.Urea is also known by the International Nonproprietary Name carbamide, as established by the World Health Organization....
 in urine from bathers). In pure form, NCl3 is highly reactive. Nitrogen trichloride can form in small amounts when public water supplies are disinfected with monochloramine, and at given levels it can irritate mucous membranes. Nitrogen trichloride was trademarked as Agene and used to artificially bleach and age flour
Flour

Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history....
. It has been used as a tear gas
Lachrymatory agent

A lachrymatory agent or lachrymator is a chemical compound that stimulates the corneal nerves in the eyes to cause tears, pain, and even temporary blindness....
.

Preparation and structure

The compound is prepared by treatment of ammonium salts, such as ammonium nitrate
Ammonium nitrate

The chemical compound ammonium nitrate, the nitrate of ammonia with the chemical formula NitrogenHydrogen4NitrogenOxygen3, is a white powder at room temperature and standard pressure....
 with chlorine:
4 NH3 + 3 Cl2 → NCl3 + 3 NH4Cl
Intermediates in this coversion include chloramine
Chloramine

Chloramine is a chemical compound with the chemical formula NH2Cl. It is usually used as a dilute solution where it is used as a disinfectant....
 and dichloramine
Dichloramine

Dichloramine is a reactive inorganic compound. It has the formula . It is unstable and reacts with many materials. It is formed by a reaction between ammonia and chlorine or sodium hypochlorite....
, NH2Cl and NHCl2, respectively.

Like ammonia, NCl3 is a pyramidal molecule. The N-Cl distances are 1.76 Å, and the Cl-N-Cl angles are 107°. The Pauling electronegativities
Electronegativity

Electronegativity, symbol χ, is a chemical property that describes the ability of an atom to attract electrons towards itself in a covalent bond....
 are very similar for nitrogen (3.04) and chlorine (3.16).

Reactions

Nitrogen trichloride is hydrolyzed by hot water to release ammonia and hypochlorous acid.
NCl3 + 3 H2O → NH3 + 3 HOCl


Safety

Nitrogen trichloride is a dangerous explosive, being sensitive to light, heat, and organic compounds. Pierre Louis Dulong
Pierre Louis Dulong

Pierre Louis Dulong was a France physicist and chemist, remembered today largely for the law of Dulong and Petit....
 first prepared it in 1812, and lost two fingers and an eye in two separate explosions. An explosion from NCl3 blinded Sir Humphry Davy
Humphry Davy

Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet Fellow of the Royal Society Royal Irish Academy was a Cornish chemist and inventor. He is probably best remembered today for his discoveries of several alkali metal and alkaline earth metals, as well as contributions to the discoveries of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine....
 temporarily, inducing him to hire Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday, Fellow of the Royal Society was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
 as a coworker. Belgian researchers reported a possible link between NCl3 and rising numbers of childhood asthma
Asthma

Asthma is a common chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in which the Lung constrict, become inflammation, and are lined with excessive amounts of thickened mucus, often in response to one or more triggers....
 cases, in what they call the pool chlorine hypothesis
Pool chlorine hypothesis

The pool chlorine hypothesis is the hypothesis that long-term attendance at indoor chlorine swimming pools by children up to the age of about 6-7 years is a major factor in the rise of asthma in rich countries since the late twentieth century....
, as an alternative to the hygiene hypothesis
Hygiene hypothesis

In medicine, the hygiene hypothesis states that a lack of early childhood exposure to infectious agents, symbiotic microorganisms , and parasites increases susceptibility to allergy diseases by modulating immune system development....
 with a closer causal link.

Further reading

  • Jander, J. (1976). Adv. Inorg. Chem. Radiochem. 19: 2.**


External links