Jeff Layman says...
bobharvey wrote:
On 18 Mar, 18:35, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
God alone knows what sodium oxide is
like, but I don't want to get anywhere near even a small quantity!

You do right.
http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/SO/sodium_oxide.html
"Reacts violently with water, acids and with many other compounds.
Store under dry inert gas. May lead to fire in contact with
combustible material."

Strangely inaccurate for the last sentence (but then there is a disclaimer
page http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/ - which also seems odd for Oxford Uni).

I doubt Sodium oxide would lead to fire in contact with combustible
material. But Sodium Peroxide, well, that's another matter entirely -
http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/SO/sodium_peroxide.html



I don't know about Sodium oxide, but I've had "fun" with
sodium and potassium metals in contact with combustible
organic chemicals. They have a tendency towards spontaneous
combustion even in the absence of oxygen. I had one
experiment years ago that did just that and it was
impossible to put the resulting fire out. My employer
wasn't too impressed either because it was a total flame
free environment and I'd got a beaker with six feet high
flames roaring out. T'was fun though.
--
David in Normandy.
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