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Nitrogen

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Nitrogen

Atomic Mass	14.00674
Electron Configuration	155 pm (Van der Waals)
Oxidation States	4S°3/2
Year Discovered	1772

Nitrogen

Atomic Mass	14.00674
Electron Configuration	155 pm (Van der Waals)
Oxidation States	4S°3/2
Year Discovered	1772

Identifiers

Element Name	Nitrogen
Element Symbol	N
InChI	InChI=1S/N
InChIKey	QJGQUHMNIGDVPM-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Properties

Atomic Weight	[14.006 43, 14.007 28] 14.00674 14.01 [14.00643,14.00728]
Atomic Radius	Van der Waals Atomic Radius :155 pm (Van der Waals) Empirical Atomic Radius :65pm (Empirical) Covalent Atomic Radius :71(1) pm (Covalent)
Oxidation States	+5, +4, +3, +2, +1, -1, -2, -3 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, -1, -2, -3 (a strongly acidic oxide)
Ground Level	⁴S°_3/2
Ionization Energy	14.534 eV 14.53413 ± 0.00004 eV
Electronegativity	Pauling Scale Electronegativity :3.04(Pauling Scale) Allen Scale Electronegativity :3.066(Allen Scale)
Electron Affinity	0eV -0.21eV
Atomic Spectra	Lines Holdings Levels Holdings
Physical Description	Gas
Element Classification	Non-metal
Element Period Number	2
Element Group Number	15 - Pnictogen
Density	0.0012506 grams per cubic centimeter
Melting Point	63.15 K (-210.00°C or -346.00°F) -210.0°C
Boiling Point	77.36 K (-195.79°C or -320.44°F) -195.795°C
Estimated Crustal Abundance	1.9×10¹ milligrams per kilogram
Estimated Oceanic Abundance	5×10^-1 milligrams per liter

History

The name derives from the Latin nitrum and Greek nitron for "native soda" and genes for "forming". Nitrogen was discovered by the Scottish physician and chemist Daniel Rutherford in 1772.

Nitrogen was discovered by the Scottish physician Daniel Rutherford in 1772. It is the fifth most abundant element in the universe and makes up about 78% of the earth's atmosphere, which contains an estimated 4,000 trillion tons of the gas. Nitrogen is obtained from liquefied air through a process known as fractional distillation.

From the Latin word nitrum, Greek Nitron, native soda; and genes, forming. Nitrogen was discovered by chemist and physician Daniel Rutherford in 1772. He removed oxygen and carbon dioxide from air and showed that the residual gas would not support combustion or living organisms. At the same time there were other noted scientists working on the problem of nitrogen. These included Scheele, Cavendish, Priestley, and others. They called it "burnt" or" dephlogisticated air," which meant air without oxygen.

Historical Atomic Weights

Year	Atomic Weight (uncertainty) [u]	Reference
2009	[14.006 43, 14.007 28]	https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REP-10-09-14
1999	14.0067(2)	https://doi.org/10.1351/pac200173040667
1985	14.006 74(7)	https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198658121677
1969	14.0067(1)	https://doi.org/10.1351/pac197021010091
1961	14.0067	https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00881a001
1920	14.008	https://doi.org/10.1021/ja02233a600
1907	14.01	https://doi.org/10.1021/ja01956a001
1902	14.04	https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01370337

Historical Isotopic Abundances

Year	Isotope	Abundance (uncertainty)	Reference
2013	¹⁴N	[0.995 78, 0.996 63]	https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-0503
2013	¹⁵N	[0.003 37, 0.004 22]	https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-0503
2001	¹⁴N	0.996 36(20)	https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1836764
2001	¹⁵N	0.003 64(20)	https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1836764
1997	¹⁴N	0.996 32(7)	https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199870010217
1997	¹⁵N	0.003 68(7)	https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199870010217
1981	¹⁴N	0.996 34(9)	https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198355071119
1981	¹⁵N	0.003 66(9)	https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198355071119
1975	¹⁴N	0.9964	https://doi.org/10.1351/pac197647010075
1975	¹⁵N	0.0036	https://doi.org/10.1351/pac197647010075

Users

The largest use of nitrogen is for the production of ammonia (NH3). Large amounts of nitrogen are combined with hydrogen to produce ammonia in a method known as the Haber process. Large amounts of ammonia are then used to create fertilizers, explosives and, through a process known as the Ostwald process, nitric acid (HNO3).

Nitrogen gas is largely inert and is used as a protective shield in the semiconductor industry and during certain types of welding and soldering operations. Oil companies use high pressure nitrogen to help force crude oil to the surface. Liquid nitrogen is an inexpensive cryogenic liquid used for refrigeration, preservation of biological samples and for low temperature scientific experimentation. Jefferson Lab's Frostbite Theater features videos of many basic liquid nitrogen experiments.

Sources

Nitrogen gas (N2) makes up 78.1% of the Earth’s air, by volume. The atmosphere of Mars, by comparison, is only 2.6% nitrogen. From an exhaustible source in our atmosphere, nitrogen gas can be obtained by liquefaction and fractional distillation. Nitrogen is found in all living systems as part of the makeup of biological compounds.

Compounds

Sodium nitrate (NaNO3) and potassium nitrate (KNO3) are formed by the decomposition of organic matter with compounds of these metals present. In certain dry areas of the world these saltpeters are found in quantity and are used as fertilizers. Other inorganic nitrogen compounds are nitric acid (HNO3), ammonia (NH3), the oxides (NO, NO2, N2O4, N2O), cyanides (CN-), etc.

The nitrogen cycle is one of the most important processes in nature for living organisms. Although nitrogen gas is relatively inert, bacteria in the soil are capable of “fixing” the nitrogen into a usable form (as a fertilizer) for plants. In other words, Nature has provided a method to produce nitrogen for plants to grow. Animals eat the plant material where the nitrogen has been incorporated into their system, primarily as protein. The cycle is completed when other bacteria convert the waste nitrogen compounds back to nitrogen gas. Nitrogen is crucial to life, as it is a component of all proteins.

See more information at the Nitrogen compound page.

Element Forms

CID	Name	Formula	SMILES	Molecular Weight
57370662	nitrogen	N	[N]	14.007
91867648	nitrogen-13	N	[13N]	13.005739
57347672	nitrogen(1+)	N+	[N+]	14.007
59197653	nitrogen(1-)	N-	[N-]	14.007

Isotopes

Stable Isotope Count	2

Isotopes in Biology

Isotopic fractionation can cause the isotope-amount ratio n(15N)/n(14N) to increase systematically through food chains through assimilation of nitrogen compounds in biomolecules such as proteins. When lower-order organisms are ingested by higher-order organisms, 15N may be selectively retained and 14N may be selectively excreted such that higher-order organisms tend to have higher n(15N)/n(14N) ratios than their food sources. Isotopic fractionation occurs as a result of assimilation, storage, and excretion of proteins and other nitrogen compounds. Biologists can use isotope-amount ratio n(15N)/n(14N) measurements to test hypotheses about predator-prey relations and detect disruptions to trophic structure of ecosystems that might be caused by toxic contaminants, invasive species, or harvesting of organisms. Similar principles are used to detect differences in diets among animals, including humans, both today and in the distant past [79], [80], [81].

Artificially enriched 15N tracers are used to study movement and transformation of nitrogen in biological and environmental systems, such as the uptake and loss of nitrogen fertilizers by crops (Fig. IUPAC.7.1). A common experiment involves introducing an isotopically labeled compound into the environment and then analyzing various samples taken from the environment for the presence of the enriched isotope to determine where the labeled compound moved and whether it transformed into other compounds (Fig. IUPAC.7.2). Artificially enriched 15N is used to study uptake and dispersal of nitrogen in feed supplies used in food production industries such as aquaculture [82].

Fig. IUPAC.7.1: Variation in nitrogen stable isotopes has been used to track fertilizer nitrogen into plants, soils, and infiltrating groundwater in experiments to improve agricultural efficiency and reduce impacts on the environment. This aerial photograph shows experimental agricultural fields where different amounts of excess nitrogen from fertilizer and plant residues can be found in groundwater. (Photo Source: Böhlke, J.K., U.S. Geological Survey).

Fig. IUPAC.7.2: Tracer experiments with the stable isotope ¹⁵N have been used to track excess dissolved nitrate in groundwater and streams and to determine to what extent the dissolved nitrate is removed by natural processes, such as conversion to harmless N2 gas before entering nitrogen-sensitive ecosystems [83]. (Photo Source: Böhlke, J.K., U.S. Geological Survey).

[79] P. L. Koch, M. L. Fogel, N. Tuross. “Tracing the diets of fossil animals using stable isotopes”, in Stable Isotopes in Ecology and Environmental Science, K. Lajtha and R. H. Michener (Eds.), Blackwell Scientific Publications, Boston (1994).

[80] J. P. Montoya. “Nitrogen isotope fractionation in the modern ocean: implications for the sedimentary record”, in Carbon Cycling in the Glacial Ocean: Constraints on the Ocean’s Role in Global Change. NATO ASI Series (Series I: Global Environmental Change), R. Zahn, T. F. Pedersen, M. A. Kaminski, L. Labeyrie (Eds.), vol. 17. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg (1994).

[81] R. E. M. Hedges, L. M. Reynard. J. Archaeolog. Sci.34, 1240 (2007).

[82] M. A. Burford, N. P. Preston, P. M. Glibert, W. C. Dennison. Aquaculture206, 199 (2002).

[83] J. K. Böhlke, R. C. Antweiler, J. W. Harvey, A. E. Laursen, L. K. Smith, R. L. Smith, M. A. Voytek. Biogeochemistry93, 117 (2009).

Isotopes in Earth/Planetary Science

The stable isotopes of nitrogen are subject to isotopic fractionation by physical, chemical, and biological processes. Variations in the isotope-amount ratio n(15N)/n(14N) are substantial (Fig. IUPAC.7.3) and commonly are used to study Earth-system processes, especially those related to biology because nitrogen is a major nutrient for growth [84]. For example, isotope fractionation occurs when dissolved solutes, such as nitrate (NO3 -), are transformed to more reduced compounds (i.e. nitrogen gas) because nitrate with higher 14N abundances tends to be more readily broken down. This leaves the residual unreacted nitrate with a higher n(15N)/n(14N) ratio than the initial ratio prior to reaction. Changes in the isotopic composition of biologically reactive compounds can be used to detect such reactions in aquatic environments, which are important mechanisms for removing reactive contaminants like nitrate [85], [86].

Variations in the isotope-amount ratio n(15N)/n(14N) are used to determine sources of nitrogen contamination in the atmosphere, oceans, groundwater, and rivers, where the isotopic composition of a contaminant molecule preserves evidence of the nitrogen sources and processes involved in its creation. An example is nitrate derived from artificial fertilizer, manure, power-plant emissions, or natural sources [87], [88], [89].

Artificially enriched 15N tracers have been used to determine rates of movement and natural remediation of nitrogen-bearing contaminants in aquifers and rivers [83], [90].

Fig. IUPAC.7.3: Variation in atomic weight with isotopic composition of selected nitrogen-bearing materials (modified from [13], [17]).

[13] M. W. Wieser, T. B. Coplen. Pure Appl Chem.83, 359 (2011).

[17] T. B. Coplen, J. A. Hopple, J. K. Böhlke, H. S. Peiser, S. E. Rieder, H. R. Krouse, K. J. R. Rosman, T. Ding, R. D. Vocke, K. Revesz, A. Lamberty, P. D. P. Taylor, P. D. Bièvre. United States Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report, 01-4222, (2002).

[83] J. K. Böhlke, R. C. Antweiler, J. W. Harvey, A. E. Laursen, L. K. Smith, R. L. Smith, M. A. Voytek. Biogeochemistry93, 117 (2009).

[84] Stable Isotopes in Ecology and Environmental Science: 2nd Edition, ed. R. Michener and K. Lajtha, p. 566, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Malden, MA (2007).

[85] J. Granger, D. M. Sigman, M. F. Lehmann, P. D. Tortell. Limnol. Oceanogr.53, 2533 (2008).

[86] A. Mariotti, A. Landreau, B. Simon. Limnol. Oceanogr.52, 1869 (1988).

[87] T. H. E. Heaton. Chem. Geol.59, 87 (1986).

[88] C. Kendall, R. Aravena. “Nitrate isotopes in groundwater systems”, in Environmental Tracers in Subsurface Hydrology, P. G. Cook and A. L. Herczeg (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston (2000).

[89] B. Mayer, E. W. Boyer, C. Goodale, N. A. Jaworski, N. Van Breemen, R. W. Howarth, S. P. Seitzinger, G. Billen, K. Lajtha, K. J. Nadelhoffer, D. Van Dam, L. J. Hetling, M. Nosal, K. Paustian. Biogeochemistry57 & 58, 171 (2002).

[90] R. L. Smith, J. K. Böhlke, S. P. Garabedian, K. M. Revesz, T. Yoshinari. Water Resour. Res.40, 1 (2004).

Isotopes in Forensic Science and Anthropology

Stable hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen isotopic compositions are used to determine the origin of pseudoephedrine from seized methyl-amphetamine made from the pseudoephedrine (drug used as a nasal decongestant or as a stimulant) [91].

[91] H. Salouros, G. J. Sutton, J. Howes, D. B. Hibbert, M. Collins. Anal. Chem.85, 9400 (2013).

Isotope Mass and Abundance

Isotope	Atomic Mass (uncertainty) [u]	Abundance (uncertainty)
^14N	14.003 074 004(2)	[0.995 78, 0.996 63]
^15N	15.000 108 899(4)	[0.003 37, 0.004 22]

Isotope	Atomic Mass (uncertainty) [u]	Abundance (uncertainty)
¹⁴N	14.00307400443(20)	0.99636(20)
¹⁵N	15.00010889888(64)	0.00364(20)

Atomic Mass, Half Life, and Decay

Nuclide	Atomic Mass and Uncertainty [u]	Half Life and Uncertainty	Discovery Year	Decay Modes, Intensities and Uncertainties [%]
¹⁰N	10.041653540 ± 0.000429417	143 ys ± 36	2002	p ?
¹¹N	11.026157593 ± 0.000005368	585 ys ± 7	1974	p=100%
¹¹N^m	11.026157593 ± 0.000005368	690 ys ± 80	1974	p=100%
¹²N	12.018613180 ± 0.000001073	11.000 ms ± 0.016	1949	β⁺=100%; β⁺α=1.93±0.4%
¹³N	13.005738609 ± 0.000000289	9.965 m ± 0.004	1934	β⁺=100%
¹⁴N	14.00307400425 ± 0.00000000024	Stable	1920	IS=99.6205±24.7%
¹⁵N	15.00010889827 ± 0.00000000062	Stable	1929	IS=0.3795±24.7%
¹⁶N	16.006101925 ± 0.00000247	7.13 s ± 0.02	1933	β^-=100%; β^-α=0.00154±0.5%
¹⁶N^m	16.006101925 ± 0.00000247	5.25 us ± 0.06	1957	IT≈100%; β^-=0.000389±2.5%
¹⁷N	17.008448876 ± 0.000016103	4.173 s ± 0.004	1949	β^-=100%; β^-n=95.1±0.7%; β^-α=0.0025±0.4%
¹⁸N	18.014077563 ± 0.000019935	619.2 ms ± 1.9	1964	β^-=100%; β^-n=7.0±1.5%; β^-α=12.2±0.6%; β^-2n ?
¹⁹N	19.017022389 ± 0.00001761	336 ms ± 3	1968	β^-=100%; β^-n=41.8±0.9%
²⁰N	20.023367295 ± 0.000084696	136 ms ± 3	1969	β^-=100%; β^-n=42.9±1.4%; β^-2n ?
²¹N	21.027087573 ± 0.000143906	85 ms ± 5	1970	β^-=100%; β^-n=87±0.3%; β^-2n ?
²²N	22.034100918 ± 0.00022306	23 ms ± 3	1979	β^-=100%; β^-n=34±0.3%; β^-2n=12±0.3%
²³N	23.039421000 ± 0.0004515	13.9 ms ± 1.4	1985	β^-=100%; β^-n=42±0.6%; β^-2n=8±0.4%; β^-3n<3.4%
²⁴N	24.050390 ± 0.00043 [Estimated]	Not-specified <52ns		n ?
²⁵N	25.060100 ± 0.00054 [Estimated]	Not-specified <260ns		n ?; 2n ?; β^- ?

Information Sources

1. PubChem
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2. Atomic Mass Data Center (AMDC), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
LICENSE
https://www-nds.iaea.org/disclaimer.html

N
https://www-nds.iaea.org/amdc/
3. IUPAC Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (CIAAW)
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http://www.ciaaw.org/bylaws.htm

Nitrogen
https://www.ciaaw.org/nitrogen.htm
4. Jefferson Lab, U.S. Department of Energy
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Please see citation and linking information https https://www.jlab.org/privacy-and-security-notice

Nitrogen
https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele007.html
5. Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy
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https://about.lanl.gov/lanl-resources/web-policies/

Nitrogen
https://periodic.lanl.gov/7.shtml
6. NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory
LICENSE
https://www.nist.gov/pml/database-disclaimer

Nitrogen
https://physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/Elements/elInfo.pl?element=7
7. IUPAC Periodic Table of the Elements and Isotopes (IPTEI)
LICENSE
Copyright (c) 2020 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) contribution within Pubchem is provided under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, unless otherwise stated.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-0703
8. PubChem Elements
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https://www.nlm.nih.gov/copyright.html

Nitrogen

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