An interstitial alloy contains nitrogen in half of the octahedral holes of a closest packed metal,M.What is the formula of this alloy? A) MN B) MN₂ C) M₄N D) M₂N E) MN₄

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The formula of the interstitial alloy can be written as MxNy, where x is the number of metal atoms and y is the number of nitrogen atoms. In a closest packed structure, each metal atom is surrounded by 12 octahedral holes. The interstitial alloy contains nitrogen in half of these octahedral holes, which means that the ratio of metal atoms to nitrogen atoms is 2:1. Therefore, the formula of the interstitial alloy is MS1U1B12S1U1B0N. However, since the subscripts 1 and 0 have no significance in the formula, it can be simplified to MS1U1B12N.

An Interstitial Alloy Contains Nitrogen in Half of the Octahedral