[ELI5] Why does P4O10, As4O10 etc. exist but N2O5 doesn’t form N4O10?

Question

[ELI5] Why does P4O10, As4O10 etc. exist but N2O5 doesn’t form N4O10?

In: 2

Answer 1

Well, N2O5 doesn’t form N4O10 because nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) atoms have different tendencies to bond with each other. When nitrogen and oxygen atoms bond together, they tend to form molecules with certain ratios of atoms. For example, nitrogen tends to form compounds with oxygen in a 1:2 ratio, such as NO, NO2, N2O, and N2O3.

On the other hand, oxygen atoms tend to form compounds with nitrogen in a 2:1 ratio, such as NO, NO2, N2O, and N2O3.

This means that when nitrogen and oxygen atoms combine to form molecules, they tend to do so in certain ratios that follow these patterns. N2O5 doesn’t form N4O10 because it would break this pattern, and it’s not energetically favorable for the atoms to bond in this way.

So, in short, N2O5 doesn’t form N4O10 because the atoms prefer to bond in specific ratios, and N4O10 would break this pattern.