14 Facts About Nitric oxide

Nitric oxide is a colorless gas with the formula.

Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its chemical formula.

Nitric oxide is a heteronuclear diatomic molecule, a class of molecules whose study spawned early modern theories of chemical bonding.

In mammals, including humans, nitric oxide is a signaling molecule in many physiological and pathological processes.

Nitric oxide reacts with fluorine, chlorine, and bromine to form the nitrosyl halides, such as nitrosyl chloride:.

For example, nitric oxide reacts with acetone and an alkoxide to form a diazeniumdiolate on each a position, with subsequent loss of methyl acetate as a by-product:.

Nitric oxide can react directly with sodium methoxide, ultimately forming sodium formate and nitrous oxide by way of an N-methoxydiazeniumdiolate.

Nitric oxide reacts with transition metals to give complexes called metal nitrosyls.

The nitric oxide reacts with the ozone to produce oxygen and nitrogen dioxide, accompanied with emission of light:.

Nitric oxide reacts with the hydroperoxyl radical to form nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which then can react with a hydroxyl radical (OH) to produce nitric acid (HNO3):.

Nitric oxide reacts with stratospheric ozone to form O2 and nitrogen dioxide:.

Nitric oxide is highly reactive, yet diffuses freely across membranes.

Once nitric oxide is converted to nitrates and nitrites by oxygen and water, cell signaling is deactivated.

Liquid nitrogen Nitric oxide is very sensitive to detonation even in the absence of fuel, and can be initiated as readily as nitroglycerin.