Nitrate vs Nitrite Both nitrate and nitrite are oxy anions of
Nitrogen. Although they both seem to look alike, there are
differences between them. These differences can be with respect
to their structure, bonding, geometrical shape, oxidation state
of Nitrogen, chemical reactivity, uses of them and etc. These
differences are mainly discussed here. NO3- ion is the conjugate
base of HNO3 (nitric V acid) which is a strong acid. It is a
planer molecule with sp3 hybridization in Nitrogen atom. All
three oxygen atoms are equivalent. There are 24 electrons in the
valence shells. NO3- ion has the molecular weight of 62.004 g
mol-1. NO2- ion is the conjugate base of HNO2 (nitric III acid)
which is a weak acid (pKa=3.5). It is also a planer molecule
with sp2 hybridization. In the valence shells, there are only 18
electrons. NO2- ion has the molecular weight of 46.006 g mol-1.
When the bonding in both the ions are considered, in NO3- ion
the pi bonding involves four 2pz atomic orbitals (one orbitla
from N and three orbi