Sodium amide is mainly used as a strong base in organic chemistry, often in liquid ammonia solution. It is the reagent of choice for the drying of ammonia (liquid or gaseous). One of the main advantages to the use of sodium amide is that it mainly functions as a nucleophile. In the industrial production of indigo, sodium amide is a component of the highly basic mixture that induces cyclisation of N-phenylglycine. The reaction produces ammonia, which is recycled typically.L. Lange, W. Treibel "Sodium Amide" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.
