Question

Which is the more powerful base, sodium hydroxide, or sodium methoxide?

Answer 1

Well dump sodium methoxide into water and you gets........

Explanation:

Well dump sodium methoxide into water and you gets........methanol and sodium hydroxide:

`H_3CO^(-)Na^+(s) + H_2O(l) rarr H_3COH(aq) + NaOH(aq)`

Dump hydroxide into methanol, and the reaction is not so complete....

`H_3COH(l) + NaOH(s) rightleftharpoons H_3CO^(-)Na^+(aq) + H_2O(l)`

And thus sodium methoxide is the more powerful base. This equilibrium lies strongly to the LEFT. Sodium methoxide or ethoxide in ethanol is a very powerful cleaning agent, and strips grease from ground glassware..........