Nitride ion
Charge: 3- · Type: Anion · Molar mass: 14.007 g/mol
Made of: nitrogen
How it forms
Nitrogen needs three electrons to complete its outer shell. Only very electropositive metals such as lithium, magnesium, and aluminium can donate that many, so nitrides form only with those metals, usually by direct heating in nitrogen gas.
Naming note
N^3- is the nitride ion (one nitrogen atom, 3- charge). Do not confuse it with the azide ion (N3^-), a different polyatomic ion of three nitrogens with a 1- charge.
Examples in compounds
Lithium nitride
Magnesium nitride
Boron nitride