Potassium hydride, KH, is the
inorganic compound of
potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosph ...
and
hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...
. It is an
alkali metal hydride
In chemistry, a hydride is formally the anion of hydrogen( H−). The term is applied loosely. At one extreme, all compounds containing covalently bound H atoms are called hydrides: water (H2O) is a hydride of oxygen, ammonia is a hydride of ...
. It is a white solid, although commercial samples appear gray. It is a powerful
superbase
A superbase is a compound that has a particularly high affinity for protons. Superbases are of theoretical interest and potentially valuable in organic synthesis. Superbases have been described and used since the 1850s.''Superbases for Organic ...
that is useful in
organic synthesis. It is sold commercially as a slurry (~35%) in
mineral oil
Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils.
The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...
or sometimes
paraffin wax
Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and begins to ...
to facilitate dispensing.
Preparation
Potassium hydride is produced by direct combination of the metal and hydrogen:
:
This reaction was discovered by
Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet, (17 December 177829 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several elements for t ...
soon after his 1807 discovery of potassium, when he noted that the metal would vaporize in a current of hydrogen when heated just below its boiling point.
[Humphry Davy (1808), ''The Bakerian Lecture on some new phenomena of chemical changes produced by electricity, particularly the decomposition of fixed alkalies, and the exhibition of the new substances which constitute their bases; and on the general nature of alkaline bodies.'' Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, volume 88, pages 1–44. In ''The Development of Chemistry, 1789–1914: Selected essays'', edited by D. Knight, pp. 17–47.]
Potassium hydride is soluble in fused hydroxides (such as molten
sodium hydroxide) and salt mixtures, but not in organic solvents.
Reactions
KH reacts with water according to the reaction:
:
As a
superbase
A superbase is a compound that has a particularly high affinity for protons. Superbases are of theoretical interest and potentially valuable in organic synthesis. Superbases have been described and used since the 1850s.''Superbases for Organic ...
, potassium hydride is more basic than
sodium hydride
Sodium hydride is the chemical compound with the empirical formula Na H. This alkali metal hydride is primarily used as a strong yet combustible base in organic synthesis. NaH is a saline (salt-like) hydride, composed of Na+ and H− ions, in co ...
. It is used to
deprotonate
Deprotonation (or dehydronation) is the removal (transfer) of a proton (or hydron, or hydrogen cation), (H+) from a Brønsted–Lowry acid in an acid–base reaction.Henry Jakubowski, Biochemistry Online Chapter 2A3, https://employees.csbsju.ed ...
certain carbonyl compounds to give
enolates
In organic chemistry, enolates are organic anions derived from the deprotonation of carbonyl () compounds. Rarely isolated, they are widely used as reagents in the synthesis of organic compounds.
Bonding and structure
Enolate anions are electr ...
. It also deprotonates amines to give the corresponding amides of the type KNHR and .
Safety
KH can be
pyrophoric
A substance is pyrophoric (from grc-gre, πυροφόρος, , 'fire-bearing') if it ignites spontaneously in air at or below (for gases) or within 5 minutes after coming into contact with air (for liquids and solids). Examples are organolit ...
in air, react violently with acids, and can ignite upon contact with oxidants. As a suspension in mineral oil, KH is less dangerous.
See also
*
Sodium hydride
Sodium hydride is the chemical compound with the empirical formula Na H. This alkali metal hydride is primarily used as a strong yet combustible base in organic synthesis. NaH is a saline (salt-like) hydride, composed of Na+ and H− ions, in co ...
References
{{Hydrides by group
Metal hydrides
Potassium compounds
Superbases
Rock salt crystal structure