What is Sodium Iodide?
Sodium Iodine is a common inorganic salt and taken as the important source of iodine as well. The chemical formula for the compound is NaI and its molecular weight is 149.89 g/mol approximately. This is a simple ionic compound where sodium cation is connected with iodine anion and its chemical structure is also given below.
Sodium Iodide Structure
The chemical compound adopts a similar octahedral crystal geometry similar to the sodium chloride.
Sodium Iodide Formula
For the industrial grade, the product is prepared by mixing sodium hydroxide and hydroiodic acid together. It can also be prepared by mixing sodium carbonate and hydroiodic acid together as shown below.
NaOH + HI → NaI + H2OSodium Iodide Molecular
Moving ahead, let us look at the physical properties of the compound. This is a white odorless crystal powder with a density of 3.67 g/mL, the melting point of 651 °C and the boiling point of 1,304 °C that absorbs moisture from the air and turns into solution further.
About Sodium Iodide
The product is quite soluble in water and organic solvents too. This is highly sensitive to sir, light, moisture etc. The chemical compound turns to brown color when exposed to light or air due to the formation of iodine flumes. The product reacts violently as a strong oxidizing agent and a strong acid, producing iodine in the end.
The major uses of sodium iodine can be seen in dietary supplements and table salts. It prevents iodine deficiency too in your body. Another major application of the product is nuclear medicine as radioactive sodium iodine can be used for treating thyroid cancer. The product is used as a reagent in organic synthesis process to prepare various alkyl iodides.