Preparation of alkali metal hydrides
First Claim
1. A process for producing alkali metal hydrides which comprises reacting alkali metal and hydrogen in the presence of a catalytic amount of at least about 0.001 percent by weight of alkali metal aluminum dihydrocarbon dihydride based on the alkali metal reactant fed to the process and in the presence of an inert solvent for the alkali metal aluminum dihydrocarbon dihydride, under conditions suitable to form alkali metal hydride, thereby producing alkali metal hydride.
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Abstract
This invention relates to the preparation of alkali metal hydrides and of alkali metal aluminum dihydrocarbon dihydrides and in particular to such compounds of sodium, potassium or lithium having in the case of the dihydrocarbon compounds hydrocarbon radicals containing from 2 to about 30 carbon atoms per radical. Such dihydrocarbon materials, as typified by sodium aluminum diethyl dihydride, and by the potassium or lithium counterparts, either singly or in mixtures with respect to alkali metals and hydrocarbon groups, are soluble and useful in inert aromatic hydrocarbon solutions and have excellent mild reducing properties for various functional groups such as carbonyl groups in various organic compounds. The alkali metal hydrides are useful in many known ways such as in condensation and alkylation reactions and as chemical intermediates such as in the preparation of the alkali metal aluminum dihydrocarbon dihydrides.
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25 Claims
- 1. A process for producing alkali metal hydrides which comprises reacting alkali metal and hydrogen in the presence of a catalytic amount of at least about 0.001 percent by weight of alkali metal aluminum dihydrocarbon dihydride based on the alkali metal reactant fed to the process and in the presence of an inert solvent for the alkali metal aluminum dihydrocarbon dihydride, under conditions suitable to form alkali metal hydride, thereby producing alkali metal hydride.
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