Nitrogen molecules $(\ce{N2})$ have lone pairs, which, as far as I know, is the property of oxygen molecules $(\ce{O2})$ that allows them to act as ligands bonding to iron in haemoglobin in the blood. Why then is atmospheric nitrogen unable to act as a ligand and form dative bonds to iron in the blood as oxygen is able to?
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andselisk
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2N2 is even worse as ligand then oxygen, its complexes are rare. – Mithoron Mar 21 '18 at 21:20
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It can, at least at high pressure, see e.g. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3417671 – Ian Bush Mar 22 '18 at 07:49
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@Mithoron Okay, but why is N2 a worse ligand than O2? – R.M. Mar 22 '18 at 21:43
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https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/118773/why-co-is-a-stronger-and-more-common-ligand-than-n2 I have a similar question but still no answer – C.X.F. Aug 10 '19 at 20:02
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Related: https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/14434/how-many-ligands-in-heme/14448 – Nilay Ghosh Jun 25 '20 at 05:28