strongest alkali???

[carolineizzy]

What is the strongest alkali known?

[shammydodger]

Ooh, crikey. I did a bit of work on superacids at postgrad level, but their opposite number, superalkalis, tend to be less well known. I wouldn't like to hazard a guess at the current state of research, but this first page from an article in the journal Inorganic Chemistry, from 1992, might give you some idea of the species that ought to be considered.

(Personal note: My postgrad head of department did part of his own postgrading for one of the authors of this article - Paul von R. Schleyer.)

[xud]

I'm guessing now but I would say Sodium Hyroxide (NaOH)

[shammydodger]

Hi Xud

Sodium hydroxide isn't even the strongest alkali amongst the alkali metal hydroxides. The basicity of the alkali metal hydroxides increases as one goes down the group. The strongest of these that is commercially available is caesium hydroxide, but it is highly dangerous. There are, though, so-called superalkalis that are even more basic than caesium hydroxide.