Question

Following are neutral oxides except:
(A) \[NO\]
(B) \[{{N}_{2}}O\]
(C) \[CO\]
(D) \[N{{O}_{2}}\]

Answer 1

Hint: Neutral oxides are those oxides which do not tend to react with either acid or base. This means the oxides which are neutral do not show acidic or basic properties. They do not have the tendency to form salts when they are reacted with acids or bases. The common example of neutral oxide is water which is neither acidic nor basic.

Complete step-by-step answer: So the neutral oxides are neither basic or acidic. In the option a we have NO which does not react with water to form oxyacids such as nitric acid or \[HN{{O}_{2}}\]. So it is a neutral oxide. Even \[{{N}_{2}}O\] nitrous oxide does not display any basic or acidic characteristics. It does not form salt when it is reacted with either base or acid. So it is also a neutral oxide. In option c we have carbon monoxide which is also a neutral oxide as it does not show acidic or basic characteristics and does not form acidic or basic solutions on reaction with water. In the fourth option we have nitrogen dioxide \[N{{O}_{2}}\] which is considered as an acidic gas because it tends to form acidic solutions on reaction with water. so nitrogen dioxide is an acidic oxide not a neutral oxide.

So the correct answer is option (D).

Note:: The \[{{N}_{2}}{{O}_{3}}\] is an acidic oxide which is the anhydride of \[HN{{O}_{2}}\]. It tends to form acid on hydration. The \[{{N}_{2}}{{O}_{5}}\] is a basic oxide which forms asic solutions on reacting with water. These are two common oxides which are given in options where you need to identify neutral oxide. The other example of neutral oxide is manganese (IV) oxide and nitric oxide. The total seven neutral oxides have been discovered till now.