In chemistry, nitrogen triiodide, also called nitrogen iodide, is a highly explosive compound of nitrogen and iodine, NI₃. Being a contact explosive, small quantities explode with a gunpowder-like snap when touched by even a feather, releasing a volatile cloud of iodine vapor. The decomposition of nitrogen triiodide occurs via the following reaction:

2NI_{3 (s)} → N_{2 (g)} + 3I_{2 (g)}

Nitrogen triiodide should be handled with extreme caution, as the dry compound explodes spontaneously. An ammonia complex of NI₃ can be synthesized by reacting iodine with ammonia, NH₃, by soaking iodine crystals in an ammonia solution. While still wet, nitrogen triiodide is safer to handle than the dry compound, but is still prone to spontaneous explosion.

External links

• See the explosion (requires the Quicktime plugin) (http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/JCESoft/CCA/CCA0/MOVIES/NI3IOD.html)
• Nitrogen Tri-Iodide - explains why the compound is explosive (http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/ni3/ni3j.htm)