Chemistry in Liquid Ammonia

In many of its properties, liquid ammonia resembles water. Both are polar and involve extensive hydrogen bonding in the liquid state. It is interesting to note that hydrogen bonding in liquid 

We have already mentioned that silver chloride is readily soluble in liquid ammonia. Because it is slighdy less polar than water and has lower cohesion energy, intermolecular forces make it possible for organic molecules to create cavities in liquid ammonia. As a result, most organic compounds are more soluble in liquid ammonia than they are in water. Physical data for liquid ammonia are summarized in Table 10.2. 

Liquid ammonia is a base, so reactions with acids generally proceed to a greater degree than do the analogous reactions in water. For example, acetic acid is a weak acid in water, but it ionizes completely in liquid ammonia. Even though ammonia is a base, it is possible for protons to be removed, but only when it reacts with exceedingly strong bases such as N3, O2, or 11. Some of the important types of reactions that occur in liquid ammonia will now be illustrated. 

Most solvents have unshared pairs of electrons, and they are polar. Therefore, they have the ability to attach to metal ions or interact with anions. As a result, when many solids crystallize from solutions, they have included a definite number of solvent molecules. When this occurs in water, we say that the crystal is a hydrate. An example of this is the well-known copper sulfate pentahydrate, 

A similar type of behavior is observed for AgCl in liquid ammonia  

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D. Nicholls, Inorganic Chemistry in Liquid Ammonia Topics in Inorganic and General Chemistry, Monograph 17, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1979, 238 pp. 

Metal Carbonyl Chemistry in Liquid Ammonia, Four Decades of Aspects and Prospects, 18, 1... 

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