Potassium amide


Potassium amide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula. Like other alkali metal amides, it is a white solid that hydrolyzes readily. It is a strong base.

Production

Potassium amide is produced by the reaction of ammonia with potassium. The reaction typically requires a catalyst.

Structure

Traditionally is viewed as a simple salt, but it has significant covalent character and is highly aggregated in ammonia solution. The compound has been characterized by X-ray crystallography as the solvent-free form as well as the mono- and diammonia solvates. In, the potassium centers are each bonded to two amido ligands and four ammonia ligands, all six of which bridge to adjacent potassium centers. The result is a chain of hexacoordinate potassium ions. The K– distances are 2.7652 whereas the K– distances are respectively 2.9234 and 3.0698 Å.