Sodium Hydride

[7646-69-7] HNa (MW 24.00) InChI = 1S/Na.H InChIKey = MPMYQQHEHYDOCL-UHFFFAOYSA-N (used as a base for the deprotonation of alcohols, phenols, amides (NH), ketones, esters, and stannanes; used as a reducing agent for disulfides, disilanes, azides, and isoquinolines) Physical Data: mp 800 °C (dec); d 1.396 g cm−3. Solubility: decomposes in water; insol all organic solvents; insol liq NH3; sol molten sodium. Form Supplied in: free-flowing gray powder (95% dry hydride); gray powder dispersed in mineral oil. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: the dispersion is a solid and may be handled in the air. The mineral oil may be removed from the dispersion by stirring with pentane, then allowing the hydride to settle. The pentane/mineral oil supernatant may be pipetted off, but care should be exercised to quench carefully any hydride in the supernatant with a small amount of an alcohol before disposal. The dry powder should only be handled in an inert atmosphere. Sodium hydride dust is a severe irritant and all operations should be done in a fume hood, under a dry atmosphere. Sodium hydride is stable in dry air at temperatures of up to 230 °C before ignition occurs; in moist air, however, the hydride rapidly decomposes, and if the material is a very fine powder, spontaneous ignition can occur as a result of the heat evolved from the hydrolysis reaction. Sodium hydride reacts more violently with water than sodium metal (eq 1); the heat of reaction usually causes hydrogen ignition. (1)