Question

I can find plenty of information on the decomposition of potassium nitrate into potassium nitrite and free oxygen, but apparently the resulting potassium nitrite likes to further decompose and produce even more free oxygen. I cannot however find the reaction for this, and its products. Do any of you know?

Answer 1

The decomposition reaction of potassium nitrite that releases oxygen is not well-documented, but it may involve further breaking down into potassium oxide, nitrogen gas, and oxygen gas, and such reactions might be explosive.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is looking for the decomposition reaction of potassium nitrite that produces more free oxygen. While detailed information about this specific reaction is not provided, we can deduce that since potassium nitrite (KNO2) is a nitrite, and nitrites can decompose in a manner similar to nitrates, one possibility could involve the decomposition into potassium oxide (K2O), nitrogen gas (N2), and oxygen gas (O2). The reaction might look like this:

2 KNO2(s) → 2 KNO3(s) → 2 K2O(s) + 2 N2(g) + 5 O2(g)

However, this reaction is not common and typically requires high temperatures to occur. Decomposition of this sort may be explosive and should never be attempted outside of controlled laboratory conditions.