Used as a food preservative, especially in cured meats like bacon, ham, and sausages, to prevent bacterial growth, including Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. It helps maintain the pink or red color of meat by reacting with myoglobin.

Also used in industrial settings as a corrosion inhibitor in heating and cooling systems.

In medicine, it serves as an antidote for cyanide poisoning by converting hemoglobin to methemoglobin, which binds cyanide.

Additionally, employed in the production of dyes and other organic compounds.