Sodium nitrite

The Uses of Sodium nitrite

To ACN (350 mL) at RT was added CuBr2 (67 g, 300 mmol). The mixture was cooled to 0-5 C and was treated dropwise with t-BuONO (72.5 mL, 535 mmol). The mixture was stirred for 5 min, then was added the SM (35 g, 238 mmol). The reaction was stirred at RT for 2 h. EtOAc (525 mL) was added to the mixture and the reaction was quenched with 10% aq NH4Cl (350 mL) and 2% aq NH3 (175 mL). The layers were separated and the aq layer was extracted with EtOAc. The combined organics were dried and concentrated. The resulting material was purified by silica gel chromatography (eluting with 5% EtOAc/hexane) to provide the product as a yellow solid. [35 g, 70%]

Definition

ChEBI: Sodium nitrite is an inorganic sodium salt having nitrite as the counterion. Used as a food preservative and antidote to cyanide poisoning. It has a role as an antimicrobial food preservative, an antihypertensive agent, a food antioxidant, a poison and an antidote to cyanide poisoning. It is a nitrite salt and an inorganic sodium salt.

General Description

A yellowish white crystalline solid. Noncombustible but will accelerate the burning of combustible material. If large quantities are involved in a fire or if the combustible material is finely divided, an explosion may result. If contaminated by ammonium compounds, spontaneous decomposition can occur and the resulting heat may ignite surrounding combustible material. Prolonged exposure heat may result in an explosion.Toxic oxides of nitrogen are produced in fires involving Sodium nitrite. Used as a food preservative, and to make other chemicals.

Environmental Fate

Routes and Pathways, and Relevant Physicochemical Properties
Sodium nitrite is a strong oxidizing agent at high temperature and also is a strong supporter of combustion. It is freely soluble in water (very soluble in water (80%) at 20 °C), and slightly soluble in ethanol (0.3%) and methanol (0.45%). Partition coefficient in octanol–water and log Pow is equal to -3.7. Vapor pressure is 9.9E-17 hPa (7.44E-17mmHg). Sodium nitrite may explode on heating above 530 °C, is not combustible but enhances combustion of other substances, and gives irritating or toxic fumes (or gases) in a fire. Furthermore, based on the estimated Henry’s law constant at 25 °C ＝2.06E-07 atm-m3 mol-1 for sodium nitrite, volatilization from water and moist soil surface is not plausible.
Partition Behavior in Water, Sediment, and Soil
This substance dissociates immediately into sodium and nitrite ions in water. Concentrations of nitrate in rainwater of up to 5mg l-1 have been observed in industrial areas.
Environmental Persistency
In the air, the vapor phase of norethisterone can be degraded by reaction with photochemically produced hydroxyl radicals with an estimated half-life of 1.1 h, while the particulate phase can be removed by wet or dry deposition. Norethisterone is likely susceptible to photolysis by sunlight because of posing chromophores that absorb at wavelengths more than 290 nm. Hydrolysis of norethisterone is not anticipated under environmental condition because it lacks a functional group to hydrolyze.
Indirect photo oxidation by hydroxy radicals (1500 000 molecules cm-3) is predicted to occur with a half-life estimated at 82.3 days.