Sodium

Name Reactions

Acyloin Condensation

Bouveault-Blanc Reduction

Birch Reduction

Wurtz Reaction

Wurtz-Fittig Reaction

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Recent Literature

Sodium in silica gel (Na-SG) - a safe, free-flowing powder - has been used for the Bouveault-Blanc reduction of various aliphatic esters. Primary alcohols were prepared in excellent yield under mild reaction conditions.
B. S. Bodnar, P. F. Vogt, J. Org. Chem., 2009, 74, 2598-2600.

Reduction of stilbenes with Na metal in dry THF allowed easy access to various 1,2-diaryl-1,2-disodiumethanes. These diorganometallic intermediates gave 1,2-diarylethanes upon aqueous work up, or trans-1,2-diaryl-substituted cyclopentanes by cycloalkylation with 1,3-dichloropropanes.
U. Azzena, G. Dettori, C. Lubinu, A. Mannu, L. Pisano, Tetrahedron, 2005, 61, 8663-8668.