What is Sodium?
Sodium in the periodic table
Sodium is a group 1 element in the periodic table with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is the sixth most common element on Earth that makes up 2.6% of the Earth’s crust. The most common chemical compound of the metal is sodium chloride.
It is a member of the alkali metals family that lies above potassium and below lithium. Sodium is an essential element for all living organisms like animals and plants. Sodium ions are the major cation in the extracellular fluid in our bodies.
Properties
At standard temperature and pressure, it is a soft silvery metal that combines with oxygen in the air and forms grayish-white sodium oxide. Therefore, it is immersed in oil or inert gas which are the conditions it is usually stored in.
- Relative atomic mass: 22.990
- State at 20°C: Solid
- Melting point: 97.794 °C
- Boiling point: 882.94 °C
- Density (g/cm3): 0.97
- CAS number: 7440–23–5
- Chem Spider ID: 4514534
The valence shell electronic configuration of sodium shows that it has one electron outer quantum shell. Therefore, it loses this electron to form unipositive cation when forming chemical compounds.
Sodium is a reactive, soft alkali metal with a low melting point. It is the most important alkaline metal from a commercial point of view. Metallic sodium reacts with hydrogen gas above 200ºC to form sodium hydride. It does not react with nitrogen even at very high temperatures but reacts with ammonia to form sodium amide.
Facts about sodium
- Sodium is the sixth most common element on our Earth which makes up 2.6% of the Earth’s crust.
- It is essential to all living things and our bodies contain about 100 grams. We constantly losing sodium in different ways so we need to replace it.
- Any extra sodium in our bodies may contribute to high blood pressure.
It was first isolated by scientist Humphry Davy in 1807 by the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide. Currently, sodium metal is produced by electrolysis of dry molten sodium chloride. - Sodium has a highly reactive metal stored in oil or inert gas.
It is a soft metal that tarnishes within a second and is exposed to the air. - When metallic sodium is exposed to air, it loses its silver appearance and forms an opaque grey colour layer of sodium oxide.
- The metal also vigorously reacts with water.
- The most common compound of metal is sodium chloride or common salt which is used widely in food, de-icing of roads in winter, and feedstock for the chemical industry.
Uses of sodium
- It is also used in improving the structure of certain alloys, soaps, and the purification of metals.
- It is useful for making sodium vapour lamps.
- Sodium is a component of NaCl which is a very important compound found in the living system.
- NaCl is obtained by the reaction of sodium with chlorine and is used as a salt in fertilizers production.
- It is an important material for manufacturing various organic compounds and esters.
- Metallic sodium is used mainly for the production of sodium borohydride, azide, indigo, and triphenylphosphine.
- Solid sodium carbonate is an important material for making glass.
- Liquid sodium is used in various types of nuclear reactors as a heat transfer fluid.
References
https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/11/sodium
https://www.priyamstudycentre.com/2021/01/sodium.html
