Sodium azide is the chemical used in airbags to inflate them…
Sodium azide is the chemical used in airbags to inflate them when you crash. It decomposes into elemental sodium and nitrogen gas as shown in the reaction below. Elemental sodium is dangerous because of its high reactivity, so other components, such as KNO3 and SiO2, are added to airbags to react with the sodium and turn it into harmless silicates. Using the balanced reactions below, determine how many moles of K4SiO4 are formed when 4.0 moles of NaN3 reacts. 2 NaN3(s) → 2 Na(l) + 3 N2(g) 10 Na(l) + 2 KNO3(s) → K2O(s) + 5 Na2O(s) + N2(g) 2 K2O(s) + SiO2(s) → K4SiO4(s)