Force Constants and Bond Orders of Nitrogen Bonds

The force constants and the corresponding bond orders of nitrogen bonds have been calculated from the vibrational spectra (infrared and Raman spectra) of a great number of nitrogen compounds. Plotting the maximum bond order of stable nitrogen bonds against the sum of Pauling's electronegativities of the bonding partners (Σx) leads to one continuous curve for the N? X bonds where X represents elements of the first and the second short period of the periodic table. Furthermore, when the bonds formed between these elements are arranged in a coordinate system in such a way that the position of each bond is determined by the difference between the electronegativities of the bonding partners (Δx along the ordinate) and the sum of the electronegativities of the bonding partners (Σx along the abscissa), the bonding partners capable of forming multiple bonds all lie within a closed domain, where their position can be correlated with their polymerizability and other reactivities of the multiple bonds. Also discussed are the orders of bonds between nitrogen and some transition elements. In an appendix, the present methods used to calculate force constants and bond orders are surveyed.