Sodium bromite is a sodium salt of
bromous acid
Bromous acid is the inorganic compound with the formula of HBrO2. It is an unstable compound, although salts of its conjugate base – bromites – have been isolated. In acidic solution, bromites decompose to bromine.Egon Wiberg, Arnold Frederick ...
. Its
trihydrate
In chemistry, a hydrate is a substance that contains water or its constituent elements. The chemical state of the water varies widely between different classes of hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was understo ...
, NaBrO
2·3H
2O, has been isolated in crystal form. It is used by the textile refining industry as a desizing agent for oxidative starch removal.
It is also used as an oxidizing agent for converting
alcohols
In chemistry, an alcohol is a type of organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl () functional group bound to a saturated carbon atom. The term ''alcohol'' originally referred to the primary alcohol ethanol (ethyl alcohol), which is ...
to
aldehydes, such as the conversion of
benzyl alcohol to
benzaldehyde
Benzaldehyde (C6H5CHO) is an organic compound consisting of a benzene ring with a formyl substituent. It is the simplest aromatic aldehyde and one of the most industrially useful.
It is a colorless liquid with a characteristic almond-like odor. ...
, and for the
Hofmann degradation of amides to amines.
References
Bromites
Sodium compounds
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