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Is NH3 a Hydrogen Bond

On the relationship between ammonia and hydrogen bonds
Ammonia ($NH_3 $) has a unique molecular structure, with nitrogen atoms connected to three hydrogen atoms by covalent bonds. After the formation of this covalent bond, the nitrogen atom has strong electronegativity, resulting in uneven distribution of electron clouds between nitrogen and hydrogen. The electron cloud density near the nitrogen atom is relatively high, showing a partial negative charge, while the hydrogen atom is partially positive.

Hydrogen bond is a special intermolecular force. The formation of hydrogen bonds requires specific conditions: first, there are atoms with large electronegativity and small radius, such as nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, etc.; second, hydrogen atoms connected to atoms with large electronegativity.

In ammonia, the nitrogen atom has a large electronegativity, which satisfies the first condition above. At the same time, the hydrogen atom in the ammonia molecule is connected to the nitrogen atom, and the hydrogen atom has the ability to form a hydrogen bond, which meets the second condition. Therefore, when the ammonia molecules are close to each other, the partially positively charged hydrogen atom in one ammonia molecule will interact with the partially negatively charged nitrogen atom in the other ammonia molecule. This effect is called a hydrogen bond.

To sum up, ammonia ($NH_3 $) does have a hydrogen bond. The existence of this hydrogen bond has a profound impact on many physical and chemical properties of ammonia. For example, in terms of the melting boiling point, the force between ammonia molecules is enhanced due to the action of hydrogen bonds. Compared with substances with similar structures but no hydrogen bonds, the melting boiling point of ammonia is higher. For example, in terms of solubility, ammonia is highly soluble in water, in part because hydrogen bonds can be formed between ammonia molecules and water molecules, which increases the solubility of ammonia in water.