We are asked to balance the decomposition reaction of NaAlH4.
In order to balance the chemical reaction, we will follow these steps:
STEP 1: Balance the non-oxygen and non-hydrogen elements first
STEP 2: Balance Hydrogen
STEP 3: Balance Oxygen
STEP 4:Make sure that all the coefficients are whole numbers
A major challenge in implementing the “hydrogen economy” is finding a safe, lightweight, and compact way of storing hydrogen for use as a fuel. The hydrides of light metals are attractive for hydrogen storage because they can store a high weight percentage of hydrogen in a small volume. For example NaAlH4, can release 5.6% of its mass as H2 upon decomposing to NaH(s), Al(s), and H2(g). NaAlH4 possesses both covalent bonds, which hold polyatomic anions together, and ionic bonds.
Write a balanced equation for the decomposition of NaAlH4.
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