Oxides of Nitrogen (Structures & Traits)

$$\begin{aligned} \text{Neutral Oxides:} &\quad \text{N}_2\text{O} \text{ (+1 oxidation state, colorless gas, diamagnetic), } \text{NO} \text{ (+2 state, colorless gas, paramagnetic)} \\ \text{Acidic Oxides:} &\quad \text{N}_2\text{O}_3 \text{ (+3 state, blue solid), } \text{NO}_2 \text{ (+4 state, brown gas, paramagnetic), } \text{N}_2\text{O}_5 \text{ (+5 state, colorless solid)} \end{aligned}$$

Concept: Higher oxidation states of nitrogen generally increase the covalent and acidic character of its corresponding molecular oxides.

Notation:

• $$\text{NO}_2$$ dimerizes readily into diamagnetic
• $$\text{N}_2\text{O}_4$$ at low temperatures to pair its odd valence electron.