Types of Nitride

Nitrides can be classified intro various categories depending on the nature of bond they have or the sources of material use to make nitride. The different types of nitrides are mentioned below:

Ionic Nitride

Ionic Nitride are the nitrides in which the cation is metal and anion is nitride ion. Lithium is the only alkali metal that forms a nitride, whereas all alkaline Earth metals produce nitrides with the formula M₃N₂. These ionic nitrides, such as Be₃N₂ and Mg₃N₂, have varying stability. This different reactivity and diversified stability make ionic nitrides significant in both industrial and chemical applications.

Covalent Nitride

Covalent Nitrides, such as boron nitride (BN), are compounds generated by the sharing of electrons amongst nonmetals. In the case of BN, boron and nitrogen atoms form covalent bonds, forming a crystal lattice structure.

Two moles of boron react with three moles of nitrogen gas to produce two moles of boron nitride, demonstrate the covalent nature of the boron-nitrogen bond in this molecule.

Binary Metal Nitride

Binary Metal nitrides, as the name suggest has two elements in the nitride compound. One out which is obviously nitrogen. Example of Binary Metal Nitride such as magnesium nitride (Mg₃N₂), are formed by the combination of a metal, such as magnesium, with nitrogen.

Transition Metal Nitride

A transition metal nitride, consist of Transition Metal cation and nitride anion. Example of Transition Metal Nitride such as titanium nitride (TiN), is generated by a chemical reaction between titanium (Ti) and nitrogen gas (N₂). The chemical equation for synthesis is

Ti + N₂ → TiN

Inorganic Nitrides

Inorganic nitrides are compounds generated by the combination of nitrogen and other elements, except carbon. These compounds usually involve the bonding of nitrogen with metals or nonmetals, resulting in a wide spectrum of materials with various characteristics and uses.

Aluminium nitride is an inorganic nitride. Other examples of inorganic nitrides are silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), titanium nitride (TiN), and boron nitride. Because of their distinctive features and adaptability, these compounds are used in electronics, ceramics, cutting tools, and a variety of other industrial applications.

Organic Nitrides

Organic nitrides are chemicals that contain the nitride functional group (−N≡). They are generally generated by substituting hydrogen atoms in ammonia (NH₃) molecules with organic groups. Nitriles, with the general structure R-C≡N, are a frequent example of an organic nitride. R indicates an organic group.

Acetonitrile (CH₃CN) is an example of an organic nitride. Acetonitrile contains a triple bond (≡N) between the nitrogen atom and the methyl group (CH₃). Other examples of organic nitrides are benzonitrile (C₆H₅CN) and propionitrile (CH₃CH₂CN). Organic nitrides are significant in the manufacture of medicines, agrochemicals, and a variety of other industrial uses.

Nitrides are a class of chemical compounds formed when nitrogen combines with less electronegativity components such as silicon or boron. It appears in nature in a variety of forms. There are three different kinds of nitrides: transition metal, covalent, and ionic. They are useful in a variety of applications and have distinct features. These nitride compounds when broken into two ions form a cation and an anion. The anion formed is called Nitride Ion.

In this article, we will learn in detail about what are nitrides, nitride ions, their formula, valency, properties, types, and uses.