Why Isn't Nitrogen Commonly Used as a Shielding Gas in Welding Instead of Argon?

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Nitrogen is not used for welding instead of argon primarily due to its reactivity at high temperatures. While nitrogen is cheaper, it can react with air to form harmful nitrous oxides when exposed to the high temperatures typical in welding processes, making it unsuitable for this application. Additionally, nitrogen's effectiveness as an inert gas is limited to medium and low temperatures, as it only behaves inertly due to its strong triple bond, which breaks down at elevated temperatures. In contrast, argon is a noble gas with a complete valence shell, ensuring it remains inert and non-reactive across all temperatures, making it the preferred choice for welding. Argon's density also helps it stay localized around the weld area, further enhancing its effectiveness.
cragar
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Why don't they use nitrogen for welding instead of argon . Unless it does something to the metal . Nitrogen seems like it would be cheaper than argon .
 
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Nitrogen reacts with air at high temps to form nitrous oxides which aren't nice.
Not sure if they could form nitrides with the metal but they might

Argon is also heavy enough that it doesn't disperse too quickly
 
thanks for your answer , so that's probably why they don't use it .
 
Nitrogen is only a good inert gas for medium to low temperature processes. It's almost like a "fake" inert gas, because it only acts like an inert gas because it has a triple bond in its structure which is very hard to break, so it will not react in lower temperatures.

At around 1500C it will react with the air to form oxides of nitrogen, meaning it is no longer inert. Welding processes can create temperatures into several thousands of degrees. Argon on the other hand is a noble gas, having a full valence shell and is a true "inert gas" and will not react at any temperature.
 
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