Sodium dithionate

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Sodium dithionate
Sodium-dithionate-2D.png
Sodium-dithionate-3D-balls-ionic.png
Names
IUPAC name
Sodium dithionate
Other names
Sodium hyposulfate, Sodium metabisulfate
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.028.682 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
EC Number
  • 231-550-1
PubChem CID
UNII
  • InChI=1S/2Na.H2O6S2/c;;1-7(2,3)8(4,5)6/h;;(H,1,2,3)(H,4,5,6)/q2*+1;/p-2 Yes check.svgY
    Key: CSMWJXBSXGUPGY-UHFFFAOYSA-L Yes check.svgY
  • InChI=1/2Na.H2O6S2/c;;1-7(2,3)8(4,5)6/h;;(H,1,2,3)(H,4,5,6)/q2*+1;/p-2
    Key: CSMWJXBSXGUPGY-NUQVWONBAI
  • [Na+].[Na+].[O-]S(=O)(=O)S([O-])(=O)=O
Properties
Na2S2O6
Molar mass 206.106 g/mol
AppearanceWhite crystalline powder
Density 2.19 g/cm3
Melting point 190 °C (374 °F; 463 K) (decomposes)
52 °C (dihydrate)
Boiling point 267 °C (513 °F; 540 K) decomposes
6.27 g/100 mL (0 °C)
15.12 g/100 mL (20 °C)
64.74 g/100 mL (100 °C)
Hazards
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
NFPA 704.svgHealth 3: Short exposure could cause serious temporary or residual injury. E.g. chlorine gasFlammability 0: Will not burn. E.g. waterInstability 0: Normally stable, even under fire exposure conditions, and is not reactive with water. E.g. liquid nitrogenSpecial hazards (white): no code
3
0
0
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
X mark.svgN  verify  (what is  Yes check.svgYX mark.svgN ?)

Sodium dithionate Na2S2O6 is an important compound for inorganic chemistry. It is also known under names disodium dithionate, sodium hyposulfate, and sodium metabisulfate. The sulfur can be considered to be in its +5 oxidation state.

Contents

It should not be confused with sodium dithionite, Na2S2O4, which is a very different compound, and is a powerful reducing agent with many uses in chemistry and biochemistry. Confusion between dithionate and dithionite is commonly encountered, even in manufacturers' catalogues.

Preparation

Sodium dithionate is produced by the oxidation of sodium bisulfite by manganese dioxide: [1]

2 NaHSO3 + MnO2 → Na2S2O6 + MnO + H2O

Alternatively, it can be prepared by the oxidation of sodium sulfite by the silver(I) cation: [1]

Na
2
SO
3
+ 2 Ag+
+ SO2−
3
Na
2
S
2
O
6
+ 2 Ag

Another method is via oxidation of sodium thiosulfate with chlorine:[ citation needed ]

3 Cl2 + Na2S2O3·5H2O + 6 NaOH → Na2S2O6 + 6 NaCl + 8 H2O

And another method to produce sodium dithionate is treating sodium thiosulfate with sodium hypochlorite solution.

Structure

The dithionate ion represents sulfur that is oxidized relative to elemental sulfur, but not totally oxidized. Sulfur can be reduced to sulfide or totally oxidized to sulfate, with numerous intermediate oxidation states in inorganic moieties, as well as organosulfur compounds. Example inorganic ions include sulfite and thiosulfate.

Sodium dithionate crystallize as orthorhombic crystals of the dihydrate (Na
2
S
2
O
6
). The water of crystallization is lost when heated to 90 °C, and the structure becomes hexagonal. [2]

Large single crystals of (Na
2
S
2
O
6
·2H
2
O
) have been grown and studied for pulsed lasing purposes (pico second spectroscopy) with great success by E. Haussühl and cols. [3]

Properties

Sodium dithionate is a very stable compound which is not oxidized by permanganate, dichromate or bromine. It can be oxidized to sulfate under strongly oxidizing conditions: these include boiling for one hour with 5 M sulfuric acid with an excess of potassium dichromate, or treating with an excess of hydrogen peroxide then boiling with concentrated hydrochloric acid.

The Gibbs free energy change for (for example) the dithionate anion's oxidation to sulfate is a negative −300 kJ/mol, making it thermodynamically unstable against oxidation, but the kinetics for this reaction are rather poor. For similar reasons, the dithionate anion has been used to form single crystals of large cation complexes in high oxidation states, as the resulting salts are very likely highly kinetically stable(unless in extraordinary conditions that obviously do not belong to crystal analysis- see above), enough to survive all the way throughout the analysis of the crystal.

Related Research Articles

In chemistry, a reducing agent is a chemical species that "donates" an electron to an electron recipient.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manganese dioxide</span> Chemical compound

Manganese dioxide is the inorganic compound with the formula MnO
2
. This blackish or brown solid occurs naturally as the mineral pyrolusite, which is the main ore of manganese and a component of manganese nodules. The principal use for MnO
2
is for dry-cell batteries, such as the alkaline battery and the zinc–carbon battery. MnO
2
is also used as a pigment and as a precursor to other manganese compounds, such as KMnO
4
. It is used as a reagent in organic synthesis, for example, for the oxidation of allylic alcohols. MnO
2
has an α-polymorph that can incorporate a variety of atoms in the "tunnels" or "channels" between the manganese oxide octahedra. There is considerable interest in α-MnO
2
as a possible cathode for lithium-ion batteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulfite</span> Oxyanion with a central atom of sulfur surrounded by 3 oxygen atoms

Sulfites or sulphites are compounds that contain the sulfite ion, SO2−
3
. The sulfite ion is the conjugate base of bisulfite. Although its acid is elusive, its salts are widely used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chromate and dichromate</span> Chromium(VI) anions

Chromate salts contain the chromate anion, CrO2−
4
. Dichromate salts contain the dichromate anion, Cr
2
O2−
7
. They are oxyanions of chromium in the +6 oxidation state and are moderately strong oxidizing agents. In an aqueous solution, chromate and dichromate ions can be interconvertible.

Classical qualitative inorganic analysis is a method of analytical chemistry which seeks to find the elemental composition of inorganic compounds. It is mainly focused on detecting ions in an aqueous solution, therefore materials in other forms may need to be brought to this state before using standard methods. The solution is then treated with various reagents to test for reactions characteristic of certain ions, which may cause color change, precipitation and other visible changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium sulfite</span> Chemical compound

Sodium sulfite (sodium sulphite) is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula Na2SO3. A white, water-soluble solid, it is used commercially as an antioxidant and preservative. It is also suitable for the softening of lignin in the pulping and refining processes of wood and lignocellulosic materials. A heptahydrate is also known but it is less useful because of its greater susceptibility toward oxidation by air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium thiosulfate</span> Chemical compound

Sodium thiosulfate is an inorganic compound with the formula Na2S2O3·(H2O)(x). Typically it is available as the white or colorless pentahydrate. It is a white solid that dissolves well in water. The compound is a reducing agent and a ligand, and these properties underpin its applications.

In chemistry, disproportionation, sometimes called dismutation, is a redox reaction in which one compound of intermediate oxidation state converts to two compounds, one of higher and one of lower oxidation states. The reverse of disproportionation, such as when a compound in an intermediate oxidation state is formed from precursors of lower and higher oxidation states, is called comproportionation, also known as synproportionation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium dithionite</span> Chemical compound

Sodium dithionite is a white crystalline powder with a sulfurous odor. Although it is stable in dry air, it decomposes in hot water and in acid solutions.

In chemical nomenclature, the IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry is a systematic method of naming inorganic chemical compounds, as recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). It is published in Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry. Ideally, every inorganic compound should have a name from which an unambiguous formula can be determined. There is also an IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dithionite</span> Anion

The dithionite is the oxyanion with the formula [S2O4]2−. It is commonly encountered as the salt sodium dithionite. For historical reasons, it is sometimes called hydrosulfite, but it contains no hydrogen and is not a sulfite. The dianion has a steric number of 4 and trigonal pyramidal geometry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiosulfate</span> Polyatomic ion (S2O3, charge –2)

Thiosulfate is an oxyanion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2O2−3. Thiosulfate also refers to the compounds containing this anion, which are the salts of thiosulfuric acid, e.g. sodium thiosulfate Na2S2O3. Thiosulfate also refers to the esters of thiosulfuric acid. The prefix thio- indicates that the thiosulfate is a sulfate with one oxygen replaced by sulfur. Thiosulfate is tetrahedral at the central S atom. Thiosulfate salts occur naturally. Thiosulfate ion has C3v symmetry, and is produced by certain biochemical processes. It rapidly dechlorinates water and is notable for its use to halt bleaching in the paper-making industry. Thiosulfate salts are mainly used in dying in textiles and the bleaching of natural substances.

In chemistry, hypomanganate, also called manganate(V) or tetraoxidomanganate(3−), is a trivalent anion (negative ion) composed of manganese and oxygen, with formula MnO3−
4
.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chromium compounds</span> Chemical compounds containing chromium

Chromium compounds are compounds containing the element chromium (Cr). Chromium is a member of group 6 of the transition metals. The +3 and +6 states occur most commonly within chromium compounds, followed by +2; charges of +1, +4 and +5 for chromium are rare, but do nevertheless occasionally exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetrathionate</span>

The tetrathionate anion, S
4
O2−
6
, is a sulfur oxyanion derived from the compound tetrathionic acid, H2S4O6. Two of the sulfur atoms present in the ion are in oxidation state 0 and two are in oxidation state +5. Alternatively, the compound can be viewed as the adduct resulting from the binding of S2−
2
to SO3. Tetrathionate is one of the polythionates, a family of anions with the formula [Sn(SO3)2]2−. Its IUPAC name is 2-(dithioperoxy)disulfate, and the name of its corresponding acid is 2-(dithioperoxy)disulfuric acid. The Chemical Abstracts Service identifies tetrathionate by the CAS Number 15536-54-6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calcium sulfite</span> Chemical compound

Calcium sulfite, or calcium sulphite, is a chemical compound, the calcium salt of sulfite with the formula CaSO3·x(H2O). Two crystalline forms are known, the hemihydrate and the tetrahydrate, respectively CaSO3·½(H2O) and CaSO3·4(H2O). All forms are white solids. It is most notable as the product of flue-gas desulfurization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polythionic acid</span>

Polythionic acid is an oxoacid which has a straight chain of sulfur atoms and has the chemical formula Sn(SO3H)2 (n > 2). Trithionic acid (H2S3O6), tetrathionic acid (H2S4O6) are simple examples. They are the conjugate acids of polythionates. The compounds of n < 80 are expected to exist, and those of n < 20 have already been synthesized. Dithionic acid (H2S2O6) does not belong to the polythionic acids due to strongly different properties.

Copper(I) sulfate, also known as cuprous sulfate, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Cu2SO4. It is a white solid, in contrast to copper(II) sulfate, which is blue in hydrous form. Compared to the commonly available reagent, copper(II) sulfate, copper(I) sulfate is unstable and not readily available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulfoxylic acid</span> Chemical compound

Sulfoxylic acid (H2SO2) (also known as hyposulfurous acid or sulfur dihydroxide) is an unstable oxoacid of sulfur in an intermediate oxidation state between hydrogen sulfide and dithionous acid. It consists of two hydroxy groups attached to a sulfur atom. Sulfoxylic acid contains sulfur in an oxidation state of +2. Sulfur monoxide (SO) can be considered as a theoretical anhydride for sulfoxylic acid, but it is not actually known to react with water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potassium thiosulfate</span> Chemical compound

Potassium thiosulfate is an inorganic compound with the formula K2S2O3. This salt can form multiple hydrates, such as the monohydrate, dihydrate, and the pentahydrate, all of which are white or colorless solids. It is used as a fertilizer.

References

  1. 1 2 W. G. Palmer (1954). Experimental Inorganic Chemistry. CUP Archive. pp. 361–365. ISBN   0-521-05902-X.
  2. D. W. Larson; A. B. VanCleave (February 1963). "X-Ray Diffraction Data for Alkali Dithionates". Canadian Journal of Chemistry. 41 (2). The National Research Council of Canada: 219–223. doi: 10.1139/v63-035 .
  3. Haussühl, E.; A. A. Kaminskii (2010). Laser Physics. 15 (5): 714–727.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)