Question

What happens when two nitrogen atoms share electrons?

Answer 1

Covalent bonding occurs.

Explanation:

The very definition of covalent bonding is the sharing of electrons between two centres. That is 2 electrons form a region of high electron density to which the positively charged nuclei are attracted, and which cancels out electrostatic repulsion between the nuclei so that a net attractive force results.

The isolated nitrogen ATOM has 5 valence electrons. When 2 such atoms bind 3 electrons from each centre overlap to form a region of high electron density between and around the nuclei, which we conceive as `:N-=N:` a nitrogen-nitrogen triple bond, the strongest chemical bond. The remaining 2 electrons on each centre are conceived to be lone, non-bonding pairs