Sodium tungstate, Na₂WO₄, a tungstate

Tungstate

In chemistry a tungstate is a compound that contains an oxoanion of tungsten or is a mixed oxide containing tungsten. The simplest tungstate ion is WO42−, "orthotungstate"...

 of sodium

Sodium

Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...

, is useful as a source of tungsten

Tungsten

Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

. It is prepared from tungsten ore

Ore

An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....

s used to manufacture tungsten by reducing it.

It is often found as the dihydrate, Na₂WO₄•2H₂O. This salt is soluble in water and is a moderately strong oxidizing agent

Oxidizing agent

An oxidizing agent can be defined as a substance that removes electrons from another reactant in a redox chemical reaction...

, but finds no common use in the chemistry laboratory. Like the molybdate

Sodium molybdate

Sodium molybdate, Na2MoO4, is useful as a source of molybdenum. It is often found as the dihydrate, Na2MoO4·2H2O.The molybdate anion is tetrahedral. Two sodium cations coordinate with every one anion.-History:...

, the deep-coloured complex tungstate(VI,V) is formed on reducing the compound with a very mild reducing agent

Reducing agent

A reducing agent is the element or compound in a reduction-oxidation reaction that donates an electron to another species; however, since the reducer loses an electron we say it is "oxidized"...

, such as complex organic compounds. It is also thought to be a possible inhibitor of protein-tyrosine phosphatase

Protein tyrosine phosphatase

Protein tyrosine phosphatases are a group of enzymes that remove phosphate groups from phosphorylated tyrosine residues on proteins. Protein tyrosine phosphorylation is a common post-translational modification that can create novel recognition motifs for protein interactions and cellular...

 (PTPase). It is also sometimes used as a fireproofing agent.

In organic chemistry, sodium tungstate is used as catalyst for epoxidation of alkene

Alkene

In organic chemistry, an alkene, olefin, or olefine is an unsaturated chemical compound containing at least one carbon-to-carbon double bond...

s and oxidation of alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

s into aldehyde

Aldehyde

An aldehyde is an organic compound containing a formyl group. This functional group, with the structure R-CHO, consists of a carbonyl center bonded to hydrogen and an R group....

s or ketone

Ketone

In organic chemistry, a ketone is an organic compound with the structure RCR', where R and R' can be a variety of atoms and groups of atoms. It features a carbonyl group bonded to two other carbon atoms. Many ketones are known and many are of great importance in industry and in biology...

s.

It is also known for its anti-diabetic effects; Researchers have identified the pathways through which sodium tungstate improves pancreatic function and beta cell proliferation.

External links

• The Anti-Diabetic Effects Of Sodium Tungstate Revealed, ScienceDaily, Aug. 28, 2009