Sodium phenoxide

Sodium phenoxide

Names
Other names Sodium phenolate
Identifiers
CAS Number	139-02-6
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image
ChemSpider	8420
ECHA InfoCard	100.004.862
PubChem CID	4445035
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)	DTXSID4027072
InChI InChI=1S/C6H6O.Na/c7-6-4-2-1-3-5-6;/h1-5,7H;/q;+1/p-1 Key: NESLWCLHZZISNB-UHFFFAOYSA-M InChI=1/C6H6O.Na/c7-6-4-2-1-3-5-6;/h1-5,7H;/q;+1/p-1 Key: NESLWCLHZZISNB-REWHXWOFAP
SMILES c1ccc(cc1)[O-].[Na+]
Properties
Chemical formula	C6H5NaO
Molar mass	116.09 g/mol
Appearance	White solid
Hazards
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH):
Main hazards	Harmful, Corrosive
Flash point	Nonflammable
Autoignition temperature	Nonflammable
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Infobox references

Sodium phenoxide (sodium phenolate) is an organic compound with the formula NaOC₆H₅. It is a white crystalline solid. Its anion, phenoxide, also known as phenolate, is the conjugate base of phenol. It is used as a precursor to many other organic compounds, such as aryl ethers.

Synthesis and structure

Most commonly, solutions of sodium phenoxide are produced by treating phenol with sodium hydroxide. Anhydrous derivatives can be prepared by combining phenol and sodium:

Na + HOC₆H₅ → NaOC₆H₅ + 1/2 H₂

Like other sodium alkoxides, crystalline sodium phenolate adopts a complex structure involving multiple Na-O bonds. Solvent-free material is polymeric, each Na center being bound to three oxygen ligands as well as the phenyl ring. Adducts of sodium phenoxide are molecular, such as the cubane-type cluster [NaOPh]₄(HMPA)₄.

Sodium phenoxide can be produced by the "alkaline fusion" of benzenesulfonic acid, whereby the sulfonate groups are displaced by hydroxide:

C₆H₅SO₃Na + 2 NaOH → C₆H₅ONa + Na₂SO₃

This route once was the principal industrial route to phenol.

Subunit of the structure of solvent-free sodium phenoxide, illustrating the binding of phenoxide to sodium through both the arene and the oxygen.

Reactions

Sodium phenoxide is a moderately strong base. Acidification gives phenol:

PhOH ⇌ PhO⁻ + H⁺          (K = 10⁻¹⁰)

Alkylation affords phenyl ethers:

NaOC₆H₅ + RBr → ROC₆H₅ + NaBr

The conversion is an extension of the Williamson ether synthesis. With acylating agents, one obtains esters:

NaOC₆H₅ + RC(O)Cl → RCO₂C₆H₅ + NaCl

Sodium phenoxide is susceptible to certain types of electrophilic aromatic substitutions. For example, it reacts with carbon dioxide to form 2-hydroxybenzoate, the conjugate base of salicylic acid. In general however, electrophiles irreversibly attack the oxygen center in phenoxide.

The Kolbe–Schmitt reaction.

External links

Media related to Sodium phenoxide at Wikimedia Commons