Sciencemadness Discussion Board

NaK Catalyzed Magnesium Reduction Method

Science_Yak - 9-11-2020 at 23:30

Would you be able to use KOH, MgO Na Aggregate, Mineral Oil, T-butanol, using the Alcohol Catalyzed Magnesium Reduction Method, to create potassium metal, that reacts with the sodium metal to create Nak, and then use some sort of mechanical separation to remove the MgO from The Mix! Or Am I stupid in my ideas and going to get roasted!

ArbuzToWoda - 9-11-2020 at 23:48

Quote: Originally posted by Science_Yak  
Would you be able to use KOH, MgO Na Aggregate, Mineral Oil, T-butanol, using the Alcohol Catalyzed Magnesium Reduction Method, to create potassium metal, that reacts with the sodium metal to create Nak, and then use some sort of mechanical separation to remove the MgO from The Mix! Or Am I stupid in my ideas and going to get roasted!


If that is what you mean, potassium metal has been obtained using a similar approach to the NurdRage's sodium one on German forums. Then you could combine the potassium and sodium aggregate in 1,4-dioxane so as to remove the magnesium, while the alloy melts. That would probably work, yeah.

Science_Yak - 10-11-2020 at 00:28

I know, but would you be able to use the crude aggregate to make the NaK in one step, using the nurd rage process. Follow his procedure but just add MgONa Aggregate in the reaction, and hope that the Na reacts with the K and drips out of the aggregate. has this been tested?

Tsjerk - 10-11-2020 at 03:04

Sodium and potassium don't really react, the just mix. I guess you don't even have to run the sodium and potassium reactions separately, you could just mix NaOH and KOH and make NaK as a one-pot reaction.

Better even use sodium metal or your sodium MgO aggregate to dry the KOH, so you don't have water in the reaction which will damage your glass.

Whether filtering MgO out of the NaK works I don't know.

Science_Yak - 10-11-2020 at 17:41

Would I need to stir this reaction if I did the NaOH KOH mix, as you need to stir for Na production, but not K production

zed - 4-12-2020 at 15:25

Hnuh? Is this because you don't have a stir plate?

If so, get one or make one.