Barium azide is an inorganic azide with the formula Ba(N3)2. It is a barium salt of hydrazoic acid. Like all azides, it is explosive. It is less sensitive to mechanical shock than lead azide.
Preparation
Barium azide may be prepared by reacting sodium azide with a soluble barium salt:1
BaBr2 + 2 NaN3 → Ba(N3)2 + 2NaBrUses
Barium azide can be used to make azides of magnesium, sodium, potassium, lithium, rubidium and zinc with their respective sulfates.2
Ba(N3)2 + Li2SO4 → 2 LiN3 + BaSO4It can also be used as a source for high purity nitrogen by heating:
Ba(N3)2 → Ba + 3 N2This reaction liberates metallic barium, which is used as a getter in vacuum applications.
See also
References
Jobelius, Horst H.; Scharff, Hans-Dieter (2000). "Hydrazoic Acid and Azides". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a13_193. ISBN 9783527306732. 9783527306732 ↩
H. D. Fair; R. F. Walker, eds. (1977). Physics and Chemistry of the Inorganic Azides. Energetic Materials. Vol. 1. New York and London: Plenum Press. ISBN 9781489950093. 9781489950093 ↩