Nitrogen group element | Properties, Uses, & List | Britannica (original) (raw)

nitrogen group element, any of the chemical elements that constitute Group 15 (Va) of the periodic table. The group consists of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi), and moscovium (Mc). The elements share certain general similarities in chemical behaviour, though they are clearly differentiated from one another chemically, and these similarities reflect common features of the electronic structures of their atoms.

Probably no other group of the elements is more familiar to the layperson than this group. Although the six elements together make up less than 0.2 percent by weight of Earth’s crust, they assume an importance far out of proportion to their abundance. This is especially true of the elements nitrogen and phosphorus, which constitute 2.4 and 0.9 percent, respectively, of the total weight of the human body.

The nitrogen elements have, perhaps, the widest range in physical state of any group in the periodic table. Nitrogen, for example, is a gas that liquefies at about −200° C and freezes around −210° C, whereas bismuth is a solid melting at 271° C and boiling at about 1,560° C. Chemically, too, the range in properties is wide, nitrogen and phosphorus being typical nonmetals; arsenic and antimony, metalloids; and bismuth, a metal. Even in appearance these elements exhibit great variety. Nitrogen is colourless both as a gas and as a liquid. Phosphorus exists in a variety of physical modifications, or allotropic forms, including the familiar white, highly reactive form that must be stored under water to prevent it from igniting in the air; a much less reactive red or violet form; and a black modification that, although least known, appears to be the most stable of all. Arsenic exists mainly as a dull gray metallic solid, but a more reactive yellow, solid form is also known, and there are indications that other forms exist under certain conditions. Antimony is a silver, metallic appearing, but somewhat brittle solid; and bismuth is a silver-white metal with a trace of pink in its lustre.

Together with carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur, the first two members of this group, nitrogen and phosphorus, are the principal chemical elements incorporated into living systems. Nitrogen and phosphorus are readily removed from the soil by plant growth and therefore are immensely important components of plant foods. Such designations as “5–10–5” on commercial fertilizers represent the respective weight percentage composition of the material in terms of nitrogen, phosphoric oxide, and potassium oxide (potassium being the third principal element needed for healthy plant growth). Nitrogen in fertilizers may be in the form of sodium or potassium nitrates, ammonia, ammonium salts, or various organic combinations. Phosphorus is supplied chiefly as inorganic phosphate.

These same elements, nitrogen and phosphorus, can also be used in ways less helpful to man. The explosives in conventional warfare are heavily dependent on their content of nitrogen compounds, and the deadly nerve gases are composed of organic compounds of phosphorus.

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On the other hand, arsenic, which is notorious for its toxicity, is most useful in agriculture, where its compounds are an aid in controlling harmful insect pests. Antimony and bismuth are used chiefly in metal alloys, because they impart unique and desirable properties to these alloys.

Comparative chemistry

Electronic configurations

Similarities in orbital arrangement

In the periodic table, each of the nitrogen group elements occupies the fifth position among the main group elements of its period, a position designated 15. In terms of the electronic configuration of its atoms, each nitrogen group element possesses an outermost shell of five electrons. In each case, these occupy an outer s orbital completely (with two electrons) and contribute one electron to each of the three outer p orbitals (the orbitals being electron regions within the atom and the letter designations, s, p, d, and f, being used to designate different classes of orbital). The arrangement of outer electrons in the atoms of the nitrogen elements thus provides three half-filled outer orbitals that, by interaction with half-filled orbitals of the atoms of other elements, can form three covalent bonds. The other atoms may attract the shared electrons either more or less strongly than do the nitrogen group atoms; therefore the latter may acquire either positive or negative charges and exist in oxidation states of +3 or −3 in their compounds. In this respect, the nitrogen elements are alike.

Another similarity among the nitrogen elements is the existence of an unshared, or lone, pair of electrons, which remains after the three covalent bonds, or their equivalent, have been formed. This lone pair permits the molecule to act as an electron pair donor in the formation of molecular addition compounds and complexes. The availability of the lone pair depends upon various factors, such as the relative size of the atom, its partial charge in the molecule, the spatial characteristics of other groups in the molecule, and the as-yet poorly understood phenomenon called the “inert pair effect.” This effect consists of a tendency for the paired s electrons in the outermost shell of the heavier atoms of a major group to remain chemically unreactive. Because of it, the electron pair-donating ability of the nitrogen group elements is not uniform throughout the group; it is probably greatest with nitrogen, less with the intermediate elements, and nonexistent with bismuth.