Question

What is the chemical name for $N{{H}_{2}}-N{{H}_{2}}$?

Answer 1

The chemical nomenclature of organic and inorganic chemical compounds is governed by the "international union of pure and applied chemistry". The systematic name of a compound should be systematic and be able to depict and determine the unambiguous formula of a chemical compound.

Complete answer:
Some rules for naming simple inorganic chemical compound are
- Compounds having anions i.e., a single negative charge use the suffix -ide.
For example, ${{H}^{-}}$ is hydride.
- The name of the cation or the compound with a positive charge is usually simply the name of the element and followed by the name of the anion.
For example, $CaC{{l}_{2}}$ is calcium chloride.
- The presence of -H (hydrogen) is depicted by the prefix hydrido.
For example, $Al{{H}_{4}}Li$ is Lithium tetrahydridoaluminate.
- Multiple atoms of the same element are depicted by the prefixes di, tri, tetra, etc.
For example, ${{O}_{4}}$ is tetraoxygen.
Now, $N{{H}_{2}}-N{{H}_{2}}$ can also be written as ${{N}_{2}}{{H}_{4}}$.
So, according to the rules stated above, the IUPAC name of $N{{H}_{2}}-N{{H}_{2}}$ is Tetra Hydrido Dinitrogen (N-N).
The common name of $N{{H}_{2}}-N{{H}_{2}}$ is hydrazine.

Additional Information:
Hydrazine is a flammable liquid. It is colorless and has an odor like ammonia. It must be handled in a solution as it is extremely toxic otherwise.
Hydrazine is often used
- During preparation of polymer foams as a foaming agent
- During polymerization as a precursor to the catalyst
- In pharmaceuticals
- In agrochemicals
- Long term storable propellant for in-space spacecraft propulsion.

Note:
It should be noted that hydrazine ($N{{H}_{2}}-N{{H}_{2}}$) is a pnictogen tetrahydride i.e., it has two pnictogen atoms covalently bonded together each of which is covalently bonded to two hydrogen atoms. Hence hydrazine ($N{{H}_{2}}-N{{H}_{2}}$) can also be known as dinitrogen hydride.