Talk:Sodium azide

message: I recall reading that NaN3 can also be obtained by oxidizing hydrazine with sodium nitrite.
:NO2– + N2H4 → N3– + 2H2O
If I can find a reference for this, I will post it to the article. Karlhahn 16:43, 22 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Alternative preparation

message: It seems to be a normal thing to dilute antibodies in, why is this? --David Munch 14:24, 14 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  It is common to add azide to prevent bacterial growth, and this is probably also the reason in your case. Iridos (talk) 21:45, 2 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Antibodies 

message: I read on here that NaN3 will slowly convert to HN3.  I looked on the internet and it seemed like HN3 is a gas?  Also, the wiki page on HN3 makes it seem like it has properties are similar to NaN3.  I am asking because we have a 1 molar solution of this dissolved in water that has been around since 2004 or so.  I was curious how fast it degrades and if the solutions are still good.  We are using it in a protease cocktail to preserve skinned (demembranated) straited muscle.  Also, if it does go bad, how long would a 1M solution last at room temp?  Thanks a lot, Rjkd12 15:29, 11 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I revised that misleading statement.  Prototonations virtually do not require time, the conversion ot HN3 is instantaneous but fortunately proceeds to a limited extent.  --Smokefoot 18:11, 11 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Half life in Water?

message: The article states that: "No toxicity has been reported from spent airbags."
But right after it says: "The toxicity of this substance led to an unfortunate incident in early 2011 when a driver inhaled the chemical from a punctured airbag after a road traffic incident"
Shouldn't the first sentence be removed?
Sensnom (talk) 17:53, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Toxicity

message: The MSDS gives different LD50s depending on route of exposure and species. "0.7g" is not specifically named; where exactly is this figure coming from? You need to state which LD50 you are using and its value. Which species was tested? Via which route were they exposed? I know I'm being fairly picky, but there is a difference between eating chocolate and injecting it.
Also, while the average adult weight is illustrative, this excludes children and over-/under-weight or short/tall people (I'm reasonably certain that they die too, but I'm not going to test this). It might not represent the average man or women very well either. This doesn't necessarily matter; more importantly, this is misleading if you don't mention that the size of the dose is related to body mass. Sure, have an average or set of averages for an at-a-glance impression, but name the LD50, not just the basic MSDS.
The oral LD50 for mice is 27mg/kg of body weight. The average adult is [apparently] around 70kg, which makes 1.89g. Even a small adult, eg me (50kg), will have a corresponding dose of 1.35g. 0.7g seems a very low figure to get from the MSDS sheet; about half what I'd expect the oral dose to be.
The skin LD50 for rabbits is around the same at 20mg/kg, so this isn't much better. The only other things I see on the MSDS sheet are airborne exposure limits - about 0.3mg/L - but these don't describe fatal doses.
It might be better to remove this value if it isn't explained in text or a footnote; anyone else want to have a go at calculating it?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.29.75.227 (talk) 21:26, 6 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Where is value for 'lethal dose for an adult human' coming from? 

message: I've folded that around in my head as many ways as I can, but I can't see a 1:3 ratio anywhere, nor triple-nitrogen bonds except in the center, which are endwise triple-bonded (tetrahedrally) to sodium. Someone have a look at this.
Riventree (talk) 01:14, 19 June 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks for checking.  We need that and no offense taken.  The structure puzzled me for a while too, but I am pretty sure it is fine (it is drawn from the atomic coordinates, so it more or less must be ok). You are correct in the sense that the picture do not show a unit cell, which would allow you to calculate the stoichiometry.  I made a cut-out that would illustrate the coordination spheres of the two kinds of ions. 
The way I think about it is that each azide has three Na+'s bound to each end, sort of ethane-like.  And each Na+ is bound to six different N's.  The structure can be viewed as an expanded version of the NaCl structure, where instead of six-connecting Cl-'s, one has six-connecting azides.  The rod-like shape of azide reduces the crystal symmetry.  Another way to look at it is as a CdCl2 structure (layered) wherein pairs of chlorides are replaced by single azides that link across the "van der Waal's layer".  --Smokefoot (talk) 01:48, 19 June 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pretty sure the crystal lattice diagram is wrong 

message: Why does the solubility section describe the water solubility as ""(clarification needed, says highly soluble in water above)" Why should a "clarification needed" note be in the main article?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.193.125.177 (talk) 23:01, 27 September 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Water solubility 

message: I don't think NaN3 has been used for many decades in airbag systems -- In fact, I think the Takata problems were due to the switch to NH4NO3 because of toxicity concerns (and ended up getting bitten by the NH4NO3 formulation becoming fouled by moisture).  139.138.6.121 (talk) 07:12, 13 November 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  "in many car airbag systems..." 

message: I think "acutely poisonous" is the proper way to describe this.  139.138.6.121 (talk) 07:48, 12 May 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Acutely Toxic"