The chemical name of NH2- or H2N- is Azanide. It is also known as amide ion or ammonia ion or monoamide or amide. NH2- is the conjugate base of ammonia and it is not stable so that it is generally found in the form of Hydrazine (NH2-NH2).
Moreover, it mostly exists with organic compounds with
structures like RNH- and NR2 where nitrogen is bonded with corresponding carbon
atoms.
In this article, we will discuss NH2- molecular
geometry and Lewis structure of NH2- along with its shape, bond angle, polarity,
hybridization, and other chemical and molecular properties. So, if you want to
clear each and every doubt with a simple explanation, be continue...
Contents
- NH2- Lewis Structure
- NH2- Molecular Geometry & Shape
- NH2- Bond Angle
- NH2- Hybridization
- NH2- Acid or Base
- NH2- Polarity (Polar or Nonpolar)
NH2- Lewis Structure

Steps to be followed for drawing NH2- Lewis structure
1. Find out the total number of valence electrons
Here the amide ion is made up of two different atoms: Nitrogen
(N) and Hydrogen (H) so first, we have to figure out the valence electrons of
these two atoms separately.
Valence electrons of hydrogen atom = 1
Valence electron of nitrogen atom = 5
Here in this molecule, we have one nitrogen atom and two
hydrogen atom and one negative charge ion. Now,
Total number of
valence electrons: 5 + 1*2 + 1 = 8.
(we have to add +1 electrons in total valence electrons because
NH2- has one negative sign on it.)
2. Determine the total number of valence electrons pairs
As we know the total number of valence electrons are equal to
the addition of sigma bonds, pi bonds, and lone pair present at the valence
shells. But it can be simply calculated by just dividing the total number of
valence electrons by two.
For NH2-, total valence electrons are 8 (as calculated in
step 1), so total electrons pairs are 8/2= 4.
3. Find out the central atom
Finding the central atom while drawing a Lewis structure is
the most tricky part but as described in how to draw a Lewis structure guide,
there is a simple trick for selecting the central atom which is obviously save
of extra time and energy.
The nitrogen atom is in the least number so simply it will
be the central atom surrounded by two hydrogen atoms from either side.
4. Drawing a simple skeleton
5. Put the lone pairs of electrons on atoms
Here we have to place two lone pairs of electrons on
nitrogen atom so that they have 8 electrons. No need to placed a lone pair of
electrons on H atoms as all the hydrogen atoms have two electrons and hydrogen
is happy with this.
We used all 8 valence electrons and all atoms are stable as nitrogen has 8 electrons and each hydrogen atoms have two electrons
for achieving octet and duplet respectively.
6. Identifying formal charge on the atom
The formal charge on each atom can be calculated as,
Formal charge (F.C) = Valence electrons (V) – Lone pair of
electrons (L) – Bond pair of electrons (B)/2.
From this, we get one negative charge on the ions. Finally, this
is our NH2- Lewis structure diagram.
NH2- Molecular Geometry & Shape
NH2- has two pairs of bonding and two pairs of non-bonding
electrons participated in the formation of a molecule. The central nitrogen atom has
two pairs of non-bonding electrons cause repulsion on both bonding pairs which pushes
the bonds closer to each other. So, NH2- has a bent (angular) molecular
geometry.
I) Electron Domain (ED) Geometry
From the above Lewis dot structure, NH2- has four regions of
electron density around the central nitrogen atom i.e. 2 bond pairs and 2 lone
pairs.
But the repulsive force of lone pair of electrons is higher
than bond pairs which cause it bends like V shape as the repulsive force of lone
pairs of electrons overtake the repulsive force of bond pairs.
II) VSEPR Shape
According to VSEPR theory, there is a total of 8 valence
electrons in which N contributes 5 electrons, Two H contribute 2 electrons, and
one negative charge contributes 1 electron.
From the Lewis structure of Nitrogen, we have two-two electrons
bonding regions which show it has 2 lone pairs of electrons.
Also, two pairs of electrons participate in the two H-N formations that show there are a total of 4 pairs of electrons pairs present.
Hence the NH2- ion has a bent V shape, based on the arrangement of the tetrahedral geometry, where the bond angle lesser than ideal 109.5°.
NH2- Bond Angle
And there are two lone pairs of electrons present on the N atom which strongly repel the bond pairs. Thus, both N-H bond pairs come closer to each other and occupy less space than two non-bonding lone pairs of electrons. That’s why NH2- has a bond angle of 104.5°, not 107° or 109.5°.
Ammonia (NH3) which has only 1 pair of non-bonding lone pairs electrons which have comparatively lower repulsive force and bond angle is around 107°.
But in the case of NH2-, there are two pairs of non-bonding electrons presence on the nitrogen atom which exerted higher repulsion, as a result, NH2- has a bond angle 104.5° same as water (H2O) bond angle.
NH2- Hybridization
NH2- has an sp3 hybridization type. The central Nitrogen atom
has four regions which are responsible for identifying hybridization. Here N
has two unbonded electrons pairs and two sigma bonds. And due to these four regions
around the central nitrogen atom, NH2- has sp3 hybridization.
In NH2-, there are three 2p orbitals and one 2s orbital. These
orbitals collectively combined to form four different sp3 hybrid orbitals. In which
two of the four sp3 hybrid orbitals are used to form bonds hydrogen and the remaining two orbitals are used to hold two lone pairs of electrons.
We can also find out hybridization with the help of a simple
formula. The calculation is showing below,
Hybridization = ½ [V.E + M - C + A]
Where,
V.E = Total no. of valence electrons presence on the
molecule
M = Total number of monoatomic atoms bonded to the central
atom
C = Cation charge (positive charge)
A= Anion charge (negative charge)
Now, on the above hybridization formula, we have to put
corresponding values to achieve NH2- hybridization.
Hybridization of NH2- = ½ [ 5+2+1] = 4
=
sp3
NH2- Acid or Base
NH2- is a strong base because it is unstable with its negative
charge in a solution so that it wants to take the edge off with a negative charge
by accepting a proton and acting as a base. According to the Bronsted-Lowry acid-base definition, molecules that accept protons are bases and those which are donated protons are acids. So, it is considered as a Bronsted base.
NH2- is a conjugate base of ammonia. It is a very strong base
as NH3 itself also acts as a very weak base and we know that the conjugated bases
of weak bases are incredibly strong and vice-versa.
Here are some of the example reactions which show NH2- is a
base.
a) Double Displacement (Metathesis): When ammonia reacts with
water it gives NH2- ion as base and H3O (hydronium ion) as acid as shown below,
NH3 + H2O → NH2- (conjugated base) + H3O+
b) Dissociation: When ammonia undergoes dissociation, it
forms NH2- as the conjugated base and H+ as conjugated acid.
NH3 (ammonia) → NH2- (conjugated base) + H+ (conjugated acid)
NH2- Polarity (Polar or Nonpolar)
Now it’s time to know polarity, it means to figure out whether
NH2- is a polar or nonpolar molecule. As we know the polarity is all about
charges on the entire molecule which is induced due to differences in
electronegativity values of atoms of molecules.
NH2- is a polar molecule because of the electronegativity
difference between nitrogen (3.04) and hydrogen (2.2). Due to this difference
in electronegativity, there is formation of a partial positive charge on the hydrogen
atom and negative charge on the nitrogen atom.
The molecular geometry of NH2- is also not symmetrical due
to lone pairs of electrons as mentioned earlier. And if the geometry of a molecule
is not symmetrical, its resultant of pole charges is also do not cancel by each
other.
As we know the net
dipole moment is simply a product of induced charge and distance between the
bonded atoms. And NH2- has induced charge because geometry is not symmetrical
which indicates it has a net dipole moment, as a result, NH2- is considered as
a polar molecule.
Its polarity can also be figured out by the Pauli scale which
says if the E.N difference between two atoms is between 0.4 to 2.0, the formed bond
will be polar. The E.N difference of N-H is 0.84 which clearly within the range
of Pauli polar molecules range.
Summary (Conclusion)
NH2- is an incredibly strong conjugate base of NH3. It has a total of 8 valence electrons which are participated in the formation of the Lewis dot structure whereas there are 2 bonding pairs and 2 lone pairs of electrons within the molecule. Due to the presence of two lone pairs of electrons that repel bond pairs N-H, it acquires a bent V-shape molecular shape with a bond angle of 104.5°.
NH2- is a polar molecule due to the higher electronegativity
difference between nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. As there are a total of four
pairs of regions (two bond pairs and two lone pairs) for the electrons are attached
with central nitrogen atom which makes it sp3 hybridization.
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