Sodium is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal that is highly reactive. Let us discuss some facts about Sodium in detail.
Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the earth’s crust. Salts of Sodium are highly soluble in water. Sodium exhibits a photoelectric effect as it conducts heat and electricity.
In detail below, let us discuss some more chemical properties like melting point, boiling point, ionization energy and oxidation state.
Sodium symbol
Na represents Sodium. The word Sodium is derived from the Latin word “natrium.”
Sodium group in the periodic table
Sodium is placed in the 1st group of the periodic table.
Sodium period in the periodic table
Sodium lies in the 3rd period of the periodic table.
Sodium block in the periodic table
Sodium is present in the s-block, with only one electron in s-orbitals.
Sodium atomic number
The atomic number of Sodium is 11.
Sodium atomic Weight
The atomic weight of Sodium is 22.98977 g/mol.
Sodium electronegativity according to Pauling
Pauling electronegativity of Sodium is 0.93.
Sodium atomic Density
The atomic density of Sodium is 0.968g/cm 3. In the periodic table, as we go down the group, there is an increase in the density of the element. But there is an exception of Na having a higher density than K. This is because the presence of d-orbitals in K increases the volume; thus, density also increases.
Sodium melting point
The melting point of a sodium atom is 97.79 ⁰C. This temperature is the liquefaction point of the Sodium, where the solid state of sodium changes to the liquid state.
Sodium boiling point
The boiling point of a Sodium atom is 882.8 ⁰C.
Sodium van der Waals radius
The van der Waal’s radius of sodium is 227 pm.
Sodium ionic radius
The ionic radius of Na+ ion is 0.102 nm. The sodium atom does not have an ionic radius because it is not an ionic compound. Therefore Sodium has a +1 charge, the ionic molecule showing the ionic radius.
Sodium isotopes
Every element in a periodic table has one or more isotopes, which have identical chemical properties but are different in their atomic mass number.
Sodium has 20 isotopes which range from sodium-18 to sodium-37. There are 4 important sodium isotopes discussed below.
| Isotopes of Sodium element | Half-life | Characteristics |
| Sodium 18 – 18 Na |
1.3(4) ×10 –21 sec | It is the shortest-lived isotope compared to all other isotopes of Sodium. |
| Sodium 22- 22Na |
2.6019(6) ys | It is the positron-emitting isotope which is a positron source to create test objects and muons to catalyze deuterium fusion. |
| Sodium 23 – 23Na |
stable | It is a monoisotopic element because it has only single stable isotopes. The standard atomic weight of this isotope is 22.98976928(2). |
| Sodium 24 – 24Na |
14.9560(15) h | It is a radioactive isotope which decays to magnesium-24 by the emission of gamma rays and electrons. |
Sodium electronic shell
An electron shell is an orbit formed by a group of electrons orbiting the atomic nucleus at certain distances.
The electronic shell of Sodium consists of 2,8,1. “K shell,” which is the nearest shell of the nucleus, consists of 2 electrons, the “2 shells” or “L shell” holds 8 electrons, and the “M shell” can hold 1 electron in the Na atom.
Sodium energy of first ionization
The first ionization energy for Sodium is 496KJ/mol. That much energy is required to remove 1 electron from the outermost 3s orbital of a neutral gaseous sodium atom so that Na+ is formed.
Sodium energy of second ionization
The second ionization energy of Sodium is 4562KJ/mol is 10 times higher than 1st ionization energy. After first ionization in Na, it attains noble gas configuration; therefore, a large amount of energy is required to remove one more electron from the filled 2p orbitals.
Sodium energy of third ionization
The third ionization energy of Sodium is 6913 KJ/mol is higher than the second ionization energy. A lots of energy is required to remove the third electron from a doubly charged gaseous sodium cation.
Sodium oxidation states
The oxidation state of Sodium is +1. The valence shell of a sodium atom contains only one electron in the 3s orbital, removal of 1 electron from its valence shell forms +1 ion.
Sodium electron configurations
The electronic configuration of the sodium atom is 1s22s22p63s1, or this can also be written as [Ne]3s1 , which contains 11 electrons.
Sodium CAS number
The CAS number of the Sodium atom is 7440-23-5.
Sodium ChemSpider ID
The ChemSpider ID of Sodium is 4514534.
Sodium allotropic forms
Allotropes are two or more structures of the same element in which atoms are arranged differently and in their physical properties.
Sodium does not have any allotropic forms as the arrangement of atoms is repeated throughout.
Sodium chemical classification
Sodium is classified as an alkali metal which is a very reactive metal. Sodium is stored in kerosene because it reacts with oxygen and moisture in the air. It reacts vigorously in water to produce sodium
hydroxide.
Sodium state at room temperature
Sodium is solid at room temperature. Its melting point is 97.79 ⁰C, higher than room temperature; hence it exists in solid. Sodium can also undergo spontaneous combustion, in which it bursts into flames without applying an external agent. Therefore it can burn in air at room temperature.
Is Sodium paramagnetic?
Paramagnetic substances are weakly attracted by the magnetic field and do not retain the magnetic property when we remove the external field.
Sodium is paramagnetic. The presence of 1 unpaired electron in its 3s orbitals in the valence shell gives the atom paramagnetic property.
Conclusion:
Sodium is an alkali metal with only one electron in the outermost shell. It reacts rapidly with water to produce sodium hydroxide. Sodium has only one stable isotope, which is sodium-23.
Hi….I am Supriya Upadhya, a Post Graduate in Organic chemistry with good understanding of Chemistry concepts and worked as Junior research fellow in synthesis of anti cancer agent. Also worked on Anti-Microbial Polymer synthesis as part of Post graduate thesis.