
Sodium hypobromite

Sodium hypobromite is the inorganic compound with the formula NaBrO. It is usually obtained as the pentahydrate, so the material that is usually called sodium hypobromite has the formula NaOBr • 5H2O. It is a yellow-orange solid that is soluble in water. It is the Na+ salt of OBr. It is the bromine analogue of sodium hypochlorite, the active ingredient in common bleach. In practice the salt is usually encountered as an aqueous solution.
Sodium hypobromite arises by treatment of aqueous solution of bromine with base:
It can be prepared "in situ" for use as a reagent, such as in the synthesis of 3-aminopyridine from nicotinamide (Hofmann rearrangement).