Question

What happens when sodium hydride reacts with diborane?

Answer 1

Sodium hydride is a base whose chemical formula is $NaH$ . It is used in many organic syntheses. Diborane is a dimer of a borane molecule which is electrophilic in nature. Diborane has a chemical formula as ${B_2}{H_6}.$ So, we will now see in what conditions the metal hydride and the diborane react and the name of the product formed after this reaction.

Complete answer:
We know that sodium hydride is considered as a base as it can abstract an acidic proton from a compound. It has a chemical formula of $NaH$ . This reagent can be used in many organic synthesis. Whereas, diborane is a dimer of a borane molecule which is electrophilic in nature. Diborane has a chemical formula as ${B_2}{H_6}.$
Now we will see the reaction between sodium hydride and diborane. The product of the reaction is Sodium Borohydride with chemical formula as $NaB{H_4}.$
Sodium Borohydride is a very good reducing agent and it is used in many organic reactions such as to convert aldehyde into alcohol molecules.
This reaction takes place in the presence of a solvent which is known as diethyl ether and has a chemical formula as ${C_2}{H_5}O{C_2}{H_5}.$
Hence, the overall reaction can be given as follows:
$NaH + B_2H_6 \to NaBH_4$

Note:
There are many applications of the product formed in this reaction which is known as Sodium Borohydride and it is used as a reagent in many organic reactions. It is a very good reducing agent and it is used to reduce aldehyde and ketone groups into the corresponding alcoholic group without changing the number of carbon atoms in the compound.