Nitrous oxide

Chemistry

The structure of the nitrous oxide molecule is a linear chain of a nitrogen atom bound to a second nitrogen, which in turn is bound to an oxygen atom. It can be considered a resonance hybrid of

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: mbox{N} equiv mbox{N}^+ - mbox{O}^-    and    mbox{N}^-= mbox{N}^+= mbox{O};

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Nitrous oxide N2O should not be confused with the other nitrogen oxides such as nitric oxide NO and nitrogen dioxide NO2.

Related Topics:
Nitrogen oxide - Nitric oxide - Nitrogen dioxide

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Nitrous oxide can be used to produce nitrites by mixing it with boiling alkali metals, and to oxidize organic compounds at high temperatures.

Related Topics:
Nitrite - Alkali metal - Organic compound

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The CAS number of nitrous oxide is 10024-97-2 and its UN number is 1070.

Related Topics:
CAS number - UN number

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