Reactions of the ammoniated electron

Solutions of sodium in liquid ammonia are stable for several months but rubidium and caesium slowly react with the solvent to give the amide and hydrogen, e.g. 

Althou solutions of sodium in liquid ammonia have been used extensively as a reducing agent in organic chemistry [88, 89], the results obtained have, in the main, been qualitative. In view of the relative stability of such solutions, it is a little surprising that more quantitative data are not available. The scarcity of data is probably due to the difficulties of interpretation since, as has been discussed earlier, species other than the simple ammoniated electron are produced. 

Reactions in liquid ammonia can be conveniently classified as follows, (a) Electron addition without bond cleavage, e.g. 

ESR studies [90] have shown that carboxylic acids, ring- or -substituted benzamides, thiobenzamides and nicotinamides can be reduced to give the corresponding radical anions or dianions, e.g. 

Other reactions that have been observed include + 02 02 

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A detailed study of the reaction of water with solutions of the alkali metals in ammonia has been made [94]. Interpretation of the data is complicated by the large number of possible species present but it appears that the reaction of the ammoniated electron with water... 

Several reports on reactions in liquid ammonia have been published, including the proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on excess electrons and metal-ammonia solutions,proton exchange at cobalt(III) ammine complexes, and the reaction of the ammoniated electron with thiosulfate... 

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