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Sodium

Sodium, including Technical Data, Safety Data and its high purity propertiesresearch, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure,ionization energyabundance on Earthconductivity and thermal properties are included. 

Sodium is primarily used in its metallic form in the production of chemical esters and in the manufacturing of various other organic compounds. The metal is used in the alloy of tin, nickel and copper for its structural characteristics. Sodium is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. High purity sodium compounds are used as reducing agents. Sodium compounds are used in low tech applications throughout industry. 

Sodium facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are available for many specific states, forms and shapes on the product pages listed to the left. Elemental or metallic forms include pellets, rod, wire and granules for evaporation source material purposes.Nanoparticles and nanopowdersprovide ultra high surface area which nanotechnology research and recent experiments demonstrate function to create new and unique properties and benefits. 


Oxidesare available in forms including powders and dense pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble.Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Sodium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries. 

Sodium is a Block S, Group 1, Period 3 element. The number of electrons in each of Sodium‘s shells is 2, 8, 1 and its electronic configuration is [Ne] 3s1. In its elemental form sodium‘s CAS number is 7440-23-5. The sodium atom has a radius of 185.8.pm and it‘s Van der Waals radius is 227.pm. 

All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, thin fillm deposition using sputtering targets andevaporation materials, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology applications. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive)isotopesOrgano-Metallic Sodium compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis. 

Sodium, first discovered by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1807, is the sixth most abundant element making up 2.6 % of the earths crust. The name Sodium comes from the Latin word "natrium" which means sodium carbonate.

Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of sodium and each of its naturally occurringisotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.
Isotope Atomic Mass % Abundance on Earth
Na-23 22.9897697 100


The following table shows the abundance of Sodium present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:
  Typical Human Body Universe
by Weight 1400000 ppb 20000 ppb
by Atom 380000 ppb 1000 ppb


Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for sodium metalnanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin. Sodiumcompounds have vital biological role as the sodium cation is the main extracellular cation in animals and is important for nerve function. 

Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for sodium (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it‘s ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table:
1st Ionization Energy 495.85 kJ mol-1
2nd Ionization Energy 4562.48 kJ mol-1
3rd Ionization Energy 6910.33 kJ mol-1


Conductivity. As to sodium‘s electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ?C is 4.2 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 0.93. The thermal conductivity of sodium is 141 W m-1 K-1. 

Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for sodium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.
Heat of Fusion 2.64 kJ mol-1
Heat of Vaporization 99.2 kJ mol-1
Heat of Atomization 107.566 kJ mol-1


Formula Atomic Number Molecular Weight Electronegativity (Pauling) Density Melting Point Boiling Point Vanderwaals radius Ionic radius Energy of first ionization
Na 11 22.98977 g.mol-1 0.9 0.97 g.cm-3 at 20 °C 97.5 °C 883 °C 227.pm 0.095 (+1) nm 495.85 kJ.mol-1