Used primarily in organic synthesis as a nitrating agent, especially in the preparation of nitro compounds and nitramines. It serves as a source of the nitrite ion in silver-mediated reactions, where it can facilitate substitution or oxidation processes. Due to the existing description is accurate and complete for English, no changes are proposed beyond HTML formatting for consistency. Due to the controlled release of nitrite, it finds use in specialized laboratory syntheses where milder conditions are required compared to more aggressive nitration methods. It may also be employed in analytical chemistry for detecting or quantifying certain functional groups. Handling requires care due to its light sensitivity and potential to form explosive compounds when combined with organic materials.