Question

Part b solid lithium metal and diatomic nitrogen gas react spontaneously to form a solid product. give the balanced chemical equation (including phases) that describes this reaction. indicate the phases using abbreviation (s), (l), or (g) for solid, liquid, or gas, respectively.

Answer 1

Lithium metal which is an alkali metal belongs to the Group I of the periodic table reacts spontaneously with nitrogen, (which remains in gaseous form at room temperature) to form solid lithium nitride ($Li_{3}N$). The reaction can be shown as- 6Li (s) + $N_{2}$(g) = $2Li_{3}N$(s). This is the only example of alkali nitride in chemistry. The other alkali nitrides are either not stable or does not exist in solid form at room temperature.