Why does the reactivity of nitrogen differ from phosphorus?
Answer
Nitrogen is chemically less reactive. This is because of the high stability of its molecule, N
2. In N
2, the two nitrogen atoms form a triple bond. This triple bond has very high bond strength, which is very difficult to break. It is because of nitrogen’s small size that it is able to form pπ−pπ bonds with itself. This property is not exhibited by atoms such as phosphorus. Thus, phosphorus is more reactive than nitrogen
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