Silver azide
chemical compound
Silver azide is the chemical compound with the formula AgN3. It is a silver(I) salt of hydrazoic acid. It forms colorless crystals. Like most azides, it is a primary explosive.
Structure and chemistry
Silver azide can be prepared by treating an aqueous solution of silver nitrate with sodium azide. The silver azide precipitates as a white solid, leaving sodium nitrate in solution.
AgNO3(aq) + NaN3(aq) → AgN3(s) + NaNO3(aq)
X-ray crystallography shows that AgN3 is a coordination polymer with square planar Ag+ coordinated by four azide ligands. Correspondingly, each end of each azide ligand is connected to a pair of Ag+ centers. The structure consists of two-dimensional AgN3 layers stacked one on top of the other, with weaker Ag–N bonds between layers. The coordination of Ag+ can alternatively be described as highly distorted 4 + 2 octahedral, the two more distant nitrogen atoms being part of the layers above and below.
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