What is Sodium Fluoride?
Sodium Fluoride is an inorganic salt that is taken as the important source of fluoride ion in a plenty of applications. The chemical formula for the compound could be written as the NaF and its molecular weight is 41.99 g/mol approximately. This is an ionic compound where one sodium cation is connected with one Fluoride anion.
Sodium Fluoride Structure
This is a solid salt exists in cubic crystal form and taken very much similar to the sodium chloride i.e. NaCl.
Sodium Fluoride Chemical Formula
The natural occurrence of the compound can be felt in minerals in a small quantity only. The product can be prepared industrially by neutralizing hydrofluoric acid with bases such as sodium carbonate, or sodium bicarbonate, or sodium hydroxide etc.
HF + NaOH → NaF + H2OIf you would look at the physical properties of the compound then the product is white crystalline solid and odorless too. It may exist in different colors from white to green based on the purity of the metal. This is highly soluble in water and dissolves quickly into sodium and fluoride ions upon heating. This is a non-combustible metal and highly corrosive to the aluminum metal. When it decomposes to sodium and fluoride ions, it is releasing toxic gases and fumes of hydrogen fluoride.
About Sodium Fluoride
The product is used as the fluorination agent in toothpaste and water supplies to maintain the dental health. It can be used for controlling corrosion, wood preservation, cleaning agent, chemical reagent, metallurgical process and more. The other common uses of the product are medical imaging, radio detector to identify various medical conditions.