Difference Between NH3N and NH4N

The key difference between NH3N and NH4N is that NH3N is a cation, whereas NH4N is a neutral compound.

NH3N and NH4N are inorganic compounds containing only nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. NH4N is hydrazine, which is a common substance as rocket fuel. NH3N is the cation formed from hydrazine. This cation forms from the removal of one hydrogen atom, leaving a positive charge on the compound.

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is NH3N
3. What is NH4N
4. Side by Side Comparison – NH3N vs NH4N in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is NH3N?

NH3N or more precisely NH3N+ is a cation containing only nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. The chemical formula NH3N stands for diazenium ion. It is a positively charged ion. The molar mass of this substance is 31 g/mol.

Figure 01: Chemical Structure of NH3N

NH3N is a type of nitrogen hydride, and its molecular structure is closely similar to that of hydrazine. Although NH3N lacks one hydrogen, the rest of the molecule is similar to the structure of NH4N (hydrazine). The IUPAC name of this cation is iminoazanium.

What is NH4N?

NH4N is an inorganic compound containing only nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. NH4N is the chemical formula of hydrazine. We can categorize NH4N as a simple pnictogen hydride. It appears as a colourless and flammable liquid having an ammonia-like odour. Moreover, this substance is highly toxic and is very unstable. Therefore, we have to handle this liquid with some extra care.

There are different important applications of hydrazine. It is mostly useful as a foaming agent in the preparation of foaming polymer materials. However, there is a wide range of applications of hydrazine such as polymerization processes, pharmaceutical industry, and agrochemical industry. As a common application, hydrazine is used as rocket fuel.

When considering the chemical structure of NH4N, it has two nitrogen atoms bonded to each other via a double bond. The NH2-N subunit has a pyramidal geometry. The bond distance between two nitrogen atoms is about 1.45 Angstrom. This molecule has a gauche conformation.

Figure 02: Structure and Geometry of Hydrazine Molecule

There are many different ways of producing hydrazine. Here, the key step of the production is the formation of the N=N double bond. The different production routes of hydrazine can be divided into two groups as methods that use chlorine oxidants and the methods that do not use chlorine oxidants.

What is the Difference Between NH3N and NH4N?

The chemical formula NH3N stands for diazenium ion while the chemical formula NH4N stands for hydrazine molecule. NH3N is a derivative of NH4N. The key difference between NH3N and NH4N is that NH3N is a cation, whereas NH4N is a neutral compound. In other words, NH3N is a positively charged substance, while NH4N is an uncharged substance. Moreover, NH3N is important in the formation of ionic compounds, but these compounds are very rare. NH4N or hydrazine has many different applications such as polymerization processes, pharmaceutical industry, and agrochemical industry. As a common application, hydrazine is used as rocket fuel.

The following infographic summarizes the difference between NH3N and NH4N in tabular form.

Summary – NH3N vs NH4N

Bothe NH3N and NH4N are inorganic compounds containing nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. The chemical formula NH3N stands for diazenium ion while the chemical formula NH4N stands for hydrazine molecule. NH3N is a derivative of NH4N. The key difference between NH3N and NH4N is that NH3N is a cation, whereas NH4N is a neutral compound.

Reference:

1. “Diazenium.” Pubchem. Available here.
2. “Hydrazine.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 June 2020, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Diazenium-2D-dimensions” By Grasso Luigi – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Hydrazine-2D-A1” By Ben Mills – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia