A Bond Length – Bond Valence Relationship for Carbon – Nitrogen Bonds

In a recent study, Pauling’s relationship between bond length and valence was derived along with a definition for his fitting parameter b that incorporates the orbital exponents for each atom contributing to the bond of interest. The values of b for various bonds, including C-N bonds, were calculated using the orbital exponent data. In this study, Pauling’s correlation between bond length and bond valence, as well as his valence sum rule, were used with the recently-derived definition for b in order to produce a relationship specifically applicable to C-N bonds. The resulting equation was checked against published x-ray diffraction data for 430 C-N bonds. It is expected, and shown by the data presented in this study, that these equations relating the bond length and bond valence of C-N bonds have sufficient applicability and accuracy for use in any bonding environment, regardless of physical state or oxidation number