Sodium trifluoromethanesulfonate, also known as sodium triflate, is a white crystalline solid with the chemical formula CF_SO_Na. It is the sodium salt of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (triflic acid), a superacid. The compound is highly stable and non-hygroscopic, making it a convenient source of the triflate anion (CF_SO__), which is an excellent leaving group and a weakly coordinating anion. Its primary application is as a versatile reagent in organic synthesis. Sodium triflate is widely used as a catalyst or co-catalyst in various reactions, including Friedel-Crafts acylation, esterification, and glycosylation. It also serves as a precursor for preparing other triflate salts and triflating agents, such as trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride. In the field of materials chemistry, it is employed as a dopant for conductive polymers and as an electrolyte component in lithium-ion batteries due to its high ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability. Additionally, it is used in analytical chemistry as a non-coordinating anion for ion-pair chromatography.