Tom hagen - 23-11-2016 at 21:00
Is this reaction even possible
CH5N3O4 + NH4OH ------> ?CO + ?NH4NO3 + ?NH3 + ?H2O
I'm not even sure what the products would be of this type of reaction but
I'm pretty sure if you do this reaction with an alkali metal hydroxide you will get an alkali metal nitrate. I am having a terrible time balancing
this equation any help would be greatly appreciated.
woelen - 23-11-2016 at 23:55
No, this reaction does not occur.
Urea has empirical formula CH4N2O, its structure is like NH2C(=O)NH2.
Heating of urea with ammonia does not give ammonium nitrate.
The theoretical exercise of balancing the above equation can be done. It is ambiguous (2 dimensional solution space, meaning that any linear
combination of two independent solutions balance the equation). It does not make sense, however, because there is no such compound CH5N3O4.
You write NH4OH. That is a bad notation. This compound does not exist, not even in solutions of NH3 in water. There is a tiny fraction of the NH3+H2O
which is in equilibrium with NH4(+) and OH(-), but that does not mean that there is a compound NH4OH.
Unfortunately, this notation and the use of the term "ammonium hydroxide" for solutions of NH3 in water is wide spread. It, however, is simply wrong.
I moved this thread to beginnings, which is a more appropriate place for this.
[Edited on 24-11-16 by woelen]