Blind Angel - 18-3-2004 at 16:54
I t happen that i have a big chunk of pure sodium metal (will weight it tomorrow to know the exact mass), and i was wondering what to do with it.
Chemoleo already suggested me to do Sodium Etanolate, anyone has other idea?
BromicAcid - 18-3-2004 at 17:48
Sodium Hydride which you could make into the borohydride with a few steps. Sodium Amide which you could make into the azide.
Distill with potassium chloride in a metal retort for potassium metal.
React with dry air for sodium oxide for a dessicant.
Dissolve in hydrazine or ammonia for the solvated electron effect for organic synthesis.
Sodium amalgam for similar reasons.
Get a little extra octane kick with tetraethyl lead.
Sodium sulfide?
Makes a good heat transfer agent to boot.
Save it for a rainy day (literally).
Saerynide - 18-3-2004 at 18:30
Sodium Party
Very damaging to the lakes though - so do it in a pool 
The_Davster - 18-3-2004 at 20:59
Bromic acid: Do you have any links/info on your seccond sugestion? I assume that it is not that simple, but any route to sodium azide is better than
buying it from a supplier
Taken from Inorganic Synthesis Vol 1
BromicAcid - 18-3-2004 at 21:04
Sodium Amide
Na + NH3 ------> NaNH2 + 1/2 H2
Sodium is heated free of its crust and oil in a porcelain or glass boat, a stream of NH3 is passed over it and the reaction is kept at about 300 C,
reaction is over when no additional H2 is formed, then the Sodium Amide is cooled in a steam of NH3.
Sodium Azide
2 NaNH2 + N2O --------> NaN3 + NaOH + NH3
The reaction takes several hours at elevated temperatures, sodium amide is a solid so the tube for N2O inlet should not dip into the Amide. The crude
product is recrystalized from water.
I'm sure you could find them online but I keep a log of interesting reactions on my computer so it was just a cut and paste.
[Edit: Did a google search, in place of running N2O through it you can mix the amide with ammonium nitrate and heat to 100 - 200C but this reaction
is supposedly dangerous, I got three references to this in the google groups but nothing substantial.]
[Edited on 3/19/2004 by BromicAcid]
Blind Angel - 19-3-2004 at 15:02
Cool, my teacher will now allow me to use the lab and his reageant to do some experiment with sodium, Sodium Azide would be cool, but i don't
feel like making explosive under his nose, i would appreciate any other input 
t_Pyro - 19-3-2004 at 18:24
How about elemental analysis of organic compounds using sodium extract? You could ask your teacher for some interesting organic compound (replete with
halogens) to analyse.
Blind Angel - 20-3-2004 at 19:58
t_Pyro: can you explain more
Also maybe doing some Sodium Hydride and trying to do a battery with it, i'll need to look the process
BromicAcid - 20-3-2004 at 20:01
For convince purposes you could make a sodium dispersion in toluene or other inert solvent and from there you can make the hydride at low temps maybe
50 - 100C by bubbling in hydrogen.
Na + halogenated organics?
chemoleo - 21-3-2004 at 16:06
I dont remember too much about this from lectures, but...
Could Na be used for reactions with halogenated organics, such as
ClCH2-CH2Cl + 2 Na --> CH2=CH2 + 2 NaCl?
Or, i.e. with paradichlorobenzene
Cl-phenyl-Cl + 2 Na --> Na-phenyl-Na
Na-phenyl-Na + 2[Cl-phenyl-Cl] --> Cl-phenyl-phenyl-phenyl-Cl + 2 NaCl?
And so on?
Or, CH3-CH2Cl + 2 Na --> NaCH2-CH3 + NaCl
Then, CH3-CH2-Na + CH3COCl (acetylchloride) --> MEK + NaCl?
How about if I play with NaOH and halogenated organics? Will you get the hydroxy organics?
I remember reading on the MSDS of chlorinated organics, that mixing them with a strong base is a hazard.
Anyone care to elaborate?
[Edited on 22-3-2004 by chemoleo]
Sodium azide
Lestat - 1-5-2004 at 02:41
Roughly 200 grams of sodium azide can be found behind car airbags, it is the explosive used to propel them. it also happens to be connected to a nice
little detonator cap
vulture - 1-5-2004 at 02:46
Na + halogenated organics is pretty much suicide. This is obvious if you look at the reaction enthalpy and/or the gibbs free energy.
Quantum - 1-5-2004 at 05:17
How would you go about removing the sodium azide from the car without hurting yourself?
To: Vulture
Lestat - 1-5-2004 at 05:27
I am aware of the dangers of nitrogen tri-iodide, I never said the nitric acid synthesis was particularly safe, I only said it was possible lol....
To: Quantum
I have yet to try removing the azide, but you might try disconnecting the battery so the blasting cap can't fire, and cutting through the airbag,
then dissolving and re-crystallising the azide?
Might work.
[Edited on 1-5-2004 by vulture]