Sodium

Chemical, physical and material properties and data of the chemical element Sodium.

Contents

Sodium - symbol Na, atomic number 11 - is a chemical element from the first group of the periodic table or the first main group and is therefore one of the alkali metals. The pure metal is silver-white, soft, can be cut with a knife and quickly tarnishes when exposed to humidity.

Sodium compounds have been known and used by humans for a long time; the best known is the common salt (sodium chloride, NaCl). The German name for the light metal and the English and French name sodium are derived from these compounds. Natron (sodium bicarbonate) is probably the namesake for sodium and is - in a slightly modified form - used in a few other languages besides German - even far away in Japan: Natoriumu. The name sodium - derived from soda - was coined by Humphry Davy, who discovered the pure metal in 1807 when he performed an electrolysis of anhydrous, molten sodium hydroxide.

General Information about Sodium

Regular nameSodiumChemical symbolNaOther namesElement 11Historical namesName meaning, originFrom the Arabic suda (soda = sodium carbonate); symbol Na from Latin name natriumDiscovery (year)(1807) - Humphry DavyOccurenceSodium is the 14th most abundant element in the universe. In the form of its salts, a widespread element on earth, especially in salt waterPosition in the PSEGroup 1, period 3, s-BlockGroup membershipAlkali metal

Atomar Properties of Sodium

Atomic number Z11 = number of protonsStandard Atomic Weight22.98976928 (2)

Electron configuration of Sodium

1s	2s	2p	3s	3p	3d	4s	4p	4d	4f	5s	5p	5d	5f	6s	6p	6d	6f	7s	7p
2	2	6	1

Shorthand electron configuration of Sodium: [Ne] 3s¹.

Ionization Energies of Sodium

The following table lists the ionization energies IE (ionization potentials); the IE is the energy required in electron volt (eV) per atom to separate a given electron from an Sodium atom.

IE1	IE2	IE3	IE4	IE5	IE6	IE7	IE8
5.1390764	47.2867	71.6205	98.92	138.40	172.18	208.51	264.25

Isotopic Data of Sodium

An overview of the nuclides as well as the isotopic data and properties are listed on the following page: Sodium isotopes.

Chemistry of Sodium

Oxidation states+1Electronegativity0.9 (Pauling original)
0.93 (Pauling)
0.869 (Allen)
1.2 (Mulliken)
0.85 (Sanderson)
1.01 (Allred-Rochow)
2.4380 eV (Gosh Gupta)
2.85 eV (Pearson)Electron affinity0.547 926(25) eV
52.867(3) kJ mol^-1

Standard Electrode Potential

E⁰ (V)	Symbol	N_ox	Name Ox. Name Red.	Ox. Red.	e^-
-2.71	Na	+ I 0	Sodium cation Sodium	Na⁺ ⇄ Na (s)	+ e^-

Material and Physical Properties

Melting point97.794 °CEnthalpy of fusion (molar)2.60 kJ mol^-1Boiling point882.940 °CEnthalpy of vaporization97.42 kJ mol^-1Density0.968 g cm^-3

External Data, Identifiers

CAS registry number7440-23-5InChI =1S/NaInChIKeyKEAYESYHFKHZAL-UHFFFAOYSA-NPubChem ID5360545

More Chemistry

isotopes

Social Media

Facebook

Twitter

About ChemLin

home

about

contact, imprint

cookie and privacy policy

Last update: 2022-12-22

Perma link: https://www.chemlin.org/chemical-elements/sodium.php