Thermal stability and chemical reactivity of nanometric sodium hydride

Nanometric sodium hydride (NaH*) possesses a large specific surface area. Its chemical reactivity is in orders of magnitude higher than that of the commercial one. After heat treatment at 200 degrees C, the specific surface area of NaH* becomes smaller, whereas its chemical reactivity is even higher. This fact indicates that the specific surface area of NaH* particles is an important but not the only factor for its high reactivity. NaH* treated at (400 degrees C, 6 h) still retains a specific surface area of 30 m(2).g(-1) and gives fairly high chemical reactivity.