| Boiling Point | 125°C † |
| Melting Point | 75°C † (see discrepancy flag above) |
| Flash Point | 150°C † |
| Color | White to yellow |
| Formula Weight | 96.10 |
| Physical Form | Crystalline powder |
| Chemical Name or Material | Sodium tert-Butoxide |
| UN Number | UN 3206 |
| Molecular Formula | C4H10NaO |
| Molecular Weight | 96.105 g/mol |
| Solubility | Insoluble in water; soluble in diethyl ether and tetrahydrofuran (THF) |
| CAS Number | 865-48-5 |
Sodium tert-Butoxide is the sodium salt of tert-butyl alcohol, formed by replacing the alcohol’s hydroxyl hydrogen with a sodium cation. The resulting tert-butoxide ion is a strong base, but its three methyl groups crowd the negatively charged oxygen enough to shield it from acting as an effective nucleophile in most reactions. That combination — strong basicity paired with limited nucleophilic character — sets it apart from smaller alkoxide bases like sodium methoxide or sodium ethoxide.
Because it favors proton removal over substitution chemistry, Sodium tert-Butoxide gives synthetic chemists a more predictable outcome when a reaction calls specifically for deprotonation. It is typically supplied and handled as a dry solid, since it reacts readily with moisture and must be kept under controlled, anhydrous conditions.
In the lab and in process chemistry, Sodium tert-Butoxide is most commonly used to drive deprotonation steps, generate enolates from carbonyl compounds, and support E2-type elimination reactions. Its selectivity makes it a useful tool wherever a reaction needs a strong base without the risk of unwanted nucleophilic attack.
Beyond general organic synthesis, it also finds use in polymer and specialty chemical manufacturing and as a building-block reagent in the production of pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates.
The reference material used to prepare this content did not include specific GHS pictogram, H-code, or P-code data, so none are listed here; consult the current SDS and COA for definitive classification before handling or shipping — this is a genuinely reactive compound and the formal GHS data gap should be filled before publishing.
