Sodium digestion
The sodium digestion is usually the digestion of organic substances with elemental sodium with vigorous heating. During this process, certain elements of the organic substance are converted into easily soluble sodium salts . The investigation of these salts enables the detection of nitrogen , sulfur and halogens in the original substance, which is why sodium digestion is used for elemental analysis in qualitative organic analysis .
reaction
After heating a hydrocarbon with sodium, an alkaline aqueous solution with the following sodium salts is formed:
- Sodium cyanide NaCN, if nitrogen was contained in the substance, detection as cyanide
- Sodium sulphide Na 2 S, if it contained sulfur, detection as sulphide
- Sodium thiocyanate NaSCN, if nitrogen and sulfur were contained (rarely), detection as thiocyanate
- Sodium halides NaX, if halogens were contained, detection as halide
Furthermore, in the heat, carbon and hydrogen burn to carbon dioxide and water , which escape quickly.
Web links
Wikibooks: Practical course organic chemistry / sodium digestion - learning and teaching materials
