Nitrogen binary compounds with oxygen

Nitrogen forms a number of binary compounds with oxygen. 

Chemically, the element nitrogen is somewhat unreactive. Under appropriate conditions, however, it combines with hydrogen to form several hydrides, the most important of which is the gas ammonia (NH3). Nitrogen also combines with oxygen to form several different oxides (e.g., N20, NO, and N203) and with other nonmetals and metals to form a class of binary compounds known as nitrides (e.g., S4N4, AIN, and Mg3N2). 

Iron reacts with nonmetals forming their binary compounds. It combines readily with halogens. Reaction is vigorous with chlorine at moderate temperature. With oxygen, it readily forms iron oxides at moderate temperatures. In a finely divided state, the metal is pyrophoric. Iron combines partially with nitrogen only at elevated temperatures. It reacts with carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, arsenic, and silicon at elevated temperatures in the absence of air, forming their binary compounds. 

One of the distinctive chemical properties of non-metallic elements is their ability to combine with metals forming simple binary compounds in which they are the negative constituent. It is the purpose of this chapter to deal with such simple compounds of the more pronounced non-metals chlorine, bromine, iodine, oxygen, sulphur, and nitrogen. 

Predicting Magnesium reacts with both oxygen and nitrogen from the air at the high temperature of the crucible. Predict the binary formulas for both products. Write the names of these two compounds. 

Nitrogen dioxide was used in mixtures with such combustibles as paraffin (without aromatic compounds), carbon disulphide or nitrobenzene. These substances were used in the proportions necessary to give complete decomposition into C02, H20 and N2, thus permitting full utilization of the oxygen present in the nitrogen dioxide. To prevent the solidification of nitrobenzene at low temperatures a binary combustible constituent, e.g. a mixture of nitrobenzene with carbon disulphide, was used. 

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