Amidogen

In chemistry, amidogen is a radical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH₂. A member of the amino group, it may be regarded as an ammonia (NH₃) molecule which has had one of its hydrogen atoms removed.^[1] NH₂ as a functional group is common in nature, as it forms part of many compounds, e.g. the phenethylamines. The free radical is present in solutions of ammonia because, like water, ammonia undergoes molecular autoionisation to form its acid and base conjugates:

2 NH
3 (aq) ⇌ NH+
4 (aq) + NH−
2 (aq)

However, the radical cannot be isolated in its free form;^[1] it is present only in the equilibrium of ammonia solution as a weak base, always partially dissociated.

The name amidogen consists of the roots amide + -(o)gen, yielding "amide creator/generator".

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