Chrysler Natrium | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Chrysler (DaimlerChrysler) |
Production | 2001 |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Minivan |
Body style | 4-door minivan |
Platform | Chrysler RS |
The Chrysler Natrium was a hybrid fuel cell-type hydrogen vehicle based on the Chrysler Town and Country. It was showcased by Chrysler in 2001.
The Natrium was powered by a battery pack and a fuel cell using hydrogen produced by a sodium borohydride reformer inside the car. Because the reactant (sodium borohydride, NaBH4) contained no carbon, the vehicle produced no carbon dioxide.[ citation needed ] It had a range of 300 miles (480 km), similar interior space to a standard van, and could produce 110 or 240 volt alternating current. [1]
"Natrium" is the Latin name of sodium, a salt of which, sodium borohydride, is used in the car's fuel cell.
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In chemistry, a hydride is formally the anion of hydrogen (H−), a hydrogen ion with two electrons. In modern usage, this is typically only used for ionic bonds, but it is sometimes (and more frequently in the past) been applied to all compounds containing covalently bound H atoms. In this broad and potentially archaic sense, water (H2O) is a hydride of oxygen, ammonia is a hydride of nitrogen, etc. In covalent compounds, it implies hydrogen is attached to a less electronegative element. In such cases, the H centre has nucleophilic character, which contrasts with the protic character of acids. The hydride anion is very rarely observed.
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Natrium is the Latin name of sodium.
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Sodium borohydride, also known as sodium tetrahydridoborate and sodium tetrahydroborate, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaBH4. It is a white crystalline solid, usually encountered as an aqueous basic solution. Sodium borohydride is a reducing agent that finds application in papermaking and dye industries. It is also used as a reagent in organic synthesis.
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Lithium borohydride (LiBH4) is a borohydride and known in organic synthesis as a reducing agent for esters. Although less common than the related sodium borohydride, the lithium salt offers some advantages, being a stronger reducing agent and highly soluble in ethers, whilst remaining safer to handle than lithium aluminium hydride.
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