The Total solution for NCERT class 6-12
Why does nitrogen show catenationproperties less than phosphorus?
Catenation is much more common inphosphorous compounds than in nitrogen compounds. This is because of therelative weakness of the N−N single bond as compared to the P−P singlebond. Since nitrogen atom is smaller, there is greater repulsion of electrondensity of two nitrogen atoms, thereby weakening the N−N single bond.