15 Facts on H2SO4 + NaH: What, How to Balance & FAQs

H2SO4 is an inorganic acid and NaH is a strong base. Let us go through the chemical reaction between H2SO4 and NaH in detail.

The reaction between H2SO4 and NaH is a oxidation-reduction type reaction. H2SO4 is odorless, colorless, hygroscopic in nature. NaH is an alkali metal hydride , it is a strong, odorless, and combustible base used in Organic Synthesis. The Molar Mass of H2SO4 is 98.079 g/mol and of NaH is 23.998 g/mol.

H2SO4 is made by Contact process & NaH by reacting H2 & liquid Na, the reactions with NaH occur at solid’s surface. In this article we will learn about the reaction between them.

What is the product of H2SO4 and NaH?

Sodium Sulfate and Hydrogen gas is evolved when Pure Sulfuric acid reacts with Sodium Hydride.

  • 2NaH + H2SO ==> Na2SO4  + 2H2

What type of reaction is H2SO4 + NaH?

The reaction NaH + H2SO4 is a Double Displacement reaction and exothermic reaction.

How to balance H2SO4 + NaH?

The Unbalanced equation for H2SO4 + NaH is as follows

  • NaH + H2SO4 ==> Na2SO4 + H2
  • To balance the equation following steps are followed:
  • Count the number of atoms on reactant side and product side, which should be same.
  • If it is not then Stoichiometric coefficient should be added to make them equal.
Element No. of atoms on LHS (reactant side) Number of atoms on RHS (Product Side)
Na 1 2
H 3 4
S 1 1
O 4 4
Balancing Chemical equation
  • To balance the equation multiply NaH by stoichiometric coefficient 2 on the LHS and on RHS multiply H2 by 2.
  • Thus the balanced equation is-
  • 2NaH + H2SO4 ==> Na2SO4 + 2H2

H2SO4 + NaH titration

Titration is not possible in H2SO4 + NaH since NaH is a superbase deprotonating various carbon acids. Also, because the reaction need to be carried out in inert atmosphere since it ignites spontaneously in air and reacts vigorously with water.

H2SO4 + NaH net ionic equation

  • The net Ionic equation is
  • 2Na+(aq)+ 2H(hypothetical)+ SO42-(aq)+ 2H+(aq) ==> 2Na++SO42-(aq) +4H+
  • To derive the net ionic equation follow below steps-
  • First write chemical equations along with the physical states of the chemical entities
  • 2NaH (aq) + H2SO4 (aq) ==> Na2SO4(aq) + 2H2(g)
  • 2Na+(aq) + 2H(hypothetical) + SO42-(aq) + 2H+(aq)==> 2Na+ + SO42-(aq) + 4H+
  • There is no net ionic reaction for such reaction since Hions do not exist in the form of a solution and also all the ions are considered to be spectator ions.

H2SO4 + NaH conjugate pairs

  • H2SO4 and water gives rise to H3O+ (Conjugate Acid) and HSO4 (Conjugate Base)
  • NaH gives rise to H which is the conjugate base.

H2SO4 and NaH intermolecular forces

H2SO4 + NaH reaction Enthalpy

The enthalpy involved in the reaction between H2SO4 and NaH is yet to be studied in detail.

Is H2SO4 + NaH a buffer solution?

H2SO4 + NaH is not a buffer solution as H2SO4 is a strong acid and no conjugate acid or base exists to keep the pH of the solution at approximate constant value.

Is H2SO4 + NaH a complete reaction?

H2SO4 + NaH is a complete reaction since the reaction achieves equilibrium and the concentration of the chemical species on both the reactant and products side is stable and equal.

Is H2SO4 + NaH an exothermic or endothermic reaction?

The reaction H2SO4 + NaH is exothermic in nature since NaH reacts spontaneously with water giving rise to generation of energy in the form of heat.

Is H2SO4 + NaH a redox reaction?

H2SO4 + NaH is considered as a redox reaction since H changed its oxidation state from -1 to +1.

Is H2SO4 + NaH a precipitation reaction?

H2SO4 + NaH is not a precipitation reaction since all the products formed in aqueous form and are soluble in water.

Is H2SO4 + NaH reversible or irreversible reaction?

H2SO4 + NaH is an irreversible reaction because the reaction is unidirectional.

Is H2SO4 + NaH displacement reaction?

H2SO4 + NaH is a double displacement reaction because in this reaction Na+ ions from NaH displace H+ ions from H2SO4 and SO42- displaces H from NaH forming Na2SO4 (Sodium Sulfate) and Hydrogen gas.

Conclusion:

The reaction between H2SO4 and NaH is very abrupt reaction due to the highly reactive nature of NaH. The product formed which is Na2SO4 (Sodium Sulfate) is highly soluble in water has various applications such as diluent in food colors, thermal storage, in commodity industries and as drying agent in organic synthesis.