Question

What is the product of the fusion of sodium with amine?
(A) $NaCN$
(B) $Na{{N}_{3}}$
(C) $NaSCN$
(D) $NaN{{O}_{2}}$

Answer 1

Hint: The fusion of sodium with an organic compound is used as a test in organic chemistry for qualitative analysis of the compound for the identification of elements like nitrogen, sulphur, and halogens (chlorine, bromine, or iodine). This test is known as lassaigne’s test.

Complete Step by Step Solution:
Lassaigne’s extract is prepared by heating the organic compound with sodium metal in a fusion tube and then plunging it into a china dish containing distilled water. This water is then boiled until it becomes one-third of its volume. This is known as Lassaigne’s extract. For the test of nitrogen, freshly prepared $FeS{{O}_{4}}$ and a few drops of $FeC{{l}_{3}}$ are added to an alkaline solution of lassaigne’s extract. This forms a Prussian blue or bluish green colour, indicating the formation of ferric ferrocyanide ($F{{e}_{4}}{{[Fe{{(CN)}_{6}}]}_{3}}$ ). When an amine and sodium metal fuse, the carbon and nitrogen in the organic compound produce sodium cyanide ($NaCN$ ), which is soluble in water. In this reaction, an organic compound, that is, amine, gets converted into an inorganic form, that is, Sodium Cyanide ($NaCN$ ).
Correct option: (A) $NaCN$.

Additional Information: Sodium is always kept immersed in mineral oil or kerosene as it is a highly reactive metal. It reacts vigorously with air and water. It never exists in nature in its elemental form. So, to prevent any accidental fire and to decrease its contact with air and water, sodium is kept in kerosene.

Note: The organic compound is covalent in nature, whereas the inorganic compound, $NaCN$ , is ionic in nature. If the organic compound contains both nitrogen and sulphur, then it will form sodium thiocyanate ($NaSCN$ ) by reacting with lassaigne’s extract.