The NaOH procedure to sodium alkoxides found by Antocho & co. was a great step forward for the hive's technological level. For those who don't know, it went like this:
NaOH + HOEt <---> NaOEt + H2O
Normally the equilibrium of this equation is > 99.9% to the left, however, it can be shifted by continuously removing the water produced, which was done by a powerful dehydrating agent:
H2O + CaO ---> Ca(OH)2
People asked whether other, more common dehydrating agents like MgSO4, CaCl2, etc. would work, but it seems somewhat unlikely. Only dehydrating agents that will do are those which 1: Undergo chemical change when they absorb water (irreversible), and 2: Cannot be destroyed by the powerful base you are making. This rules out most commonly available dehydrating agents. Now, it does so happen that you can make CaO by roasting chalk (CaCO3) at circa 800 C, but if you are going to roast something, there is something better than CaO: Na2O.
H2O + Na2O ---> 2 NaOH
Na2O is a good dehydrating agent, and even better, for every water it encounters, it forms 2 more hydroxides. This will surely shift equilibrium all the way to the right, and produce high yields of alkoxide.
But how to make this Na2O?
By roasting baking soda, of course¡¦
NaHCO3 --100C--> Na2CO3 --400C--> Na2O
According to the merck index, Na2CO3 will start to lose CO2 at around 400 C. There is only one thing it could bee turning into¡¦
This also makes another useful modification to the hydroxide-->alkoxide procedure: Don't add any hydroxide. Don't dry the alcohol. Just buy some Everclear (95%), or 93% isopropyl, add your Na2O carefully, and the needed NaOH will be generated in situ from the water in the alcohol. Now isn't that much more elegant?
Something yet cooler: SODIUM METAL WITHOUT ELECTROLYSIS
See, at 500 C and higher, another reaction begins to occur:
2 Na2O ----> 2 Na + Na2O2
You all know what this means¡¦Metallic sodium from baking soda and a blowtorch! Now, there's plenty of interesting things to do with metallic Na¡¦If you want a good base for the drone enolate synth or whatever, I hear the sodium salt of DMSO is pretty strong indeed¡¦Or maybe somebee would have a use for NaNH3? Like making NaN3? Or somesuch thing?
Of course, sodium metal at 500 C will want to burn Very Much (don't spill any, heh heh), so a covered dish is pretty much essential. If the stuff combines with CO2 (not sure, really), a tube of hydrated lime might absorb that, and the oxygen will burn itself out, leaving only nitrogen.
If you leave the dish open to the air, it will only form Na2O2, as all the Na formed will turn instantly back to Na2O. But that's OK for certain purposes, because Na2O2 is useful too!
It's a peroxide. It can oxidize things. Or epoxidize things, perhaps?
When added to water, it forms 2 NaOH + H2O2. If acid is present, the H2O2 will be stable. What if there happens to be acetic acid around? Peracid from vinegar and baking soda? There's a thought¡¦ Ning wonders if it is added to conc. H2SO4, whether the following reaction will occur: Na2O2 + H2SO4 --> Na2SO4 + H2O2. Yikes! Pirahna solution! Or consider what might happen if one were to gas it with dry HCl? Fearsome concentrations of H2O2, never seen on the open market! Better not have any manganese or silver salts nearby!
Anyway, to sum up, we have a series of reactions that merit further exploration:
NaHCO3 ---> Na2CO3 ---> Na2O ---> Na + Na2O2
Take off what you need where you need it. Yield should be relatively easy to compute, based on mass and the quantity of gas generated by certain reactions, or titration. Certainly within the analytical reach of most bees.
