Chemistry:Sodium pentaborate

From HandWiki
Disodium decaborate
Names
Other names
Sodium pentaborate
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
EC Number
  • 234-522-7
UNII
Properties
Na+
[B
5
O
6
(OH)
4
]
or Na+
[B
5
O
7
(OH)
2
]
 · H2O
Molar mass 241.06 g·mol−1
Appearance Colorless crystalline solid
Soluble
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references
Tracking categories (test):

Sodium pentaborate, more properly disodium decaborate, is a chemical compound of sodium, boron, and oxygen; a salt with elemental formula NaB
5
O
8
, Na
2
B
10
O
16
, or Na
2
· 5B
2
O
3
. It is a colorless crystalline solid, soluble in water.

The compound is often encountered or traded as hydrates NaB
5
O
8
 · nH
2
O
, Na
2
B
10
O
16
 · 2nH
2
O
, or Na
2
· 5B
2
O
3
 · 2nH
2
O
for n = 2,[1] 4,[2][3] 5,[4][5] or other values. This formula is often misleading as some of the water molecules are actually hydroxyl groups covalently attached to boron atoms.

The compound is used in agriculture as a boron supplement in fertilizer with various trade names such as Solubor[5] and Aquabor.[3] It has also been tested as an additive to improve plasma electrolytic oxidation of magnesium alloys.[4]

The name "sodium pentaborate" has also been used for a distinct compound with formula Na
3
B
5
O
8
 · nH
2
O
, better called trisodium pentaborate.[6]

Structure and preparation

Dihydrate

Sodium pentaborate "dihydrate" has the elemental formula NaH
4
B
5
O
10
, which can be parsed as NaB
5
O
8
 · 2H2O
or Na
2
· 5B
3
O
3
 · 4H2O
, however the correct formula seems to be either Na+
[B
5
O
6
(OH)
4
]
or Na+
[B
5
O
7
(OH)
2
]
 · H2O
. The latter seems more likely, since under thermogravimetric analysis the material starts to decompose at about 130 °C with partial loss of water. [1]

It can be prepared by reacting water solutions of sodium carbonate Na
2
CO
3
and boric acid B(OH)
3
in mole ratio 1:10 and evaporating the resulting solution at 40 °C. It belongs to the monoclinic crystal system with symmetry group P21/c (C2h5) and parameters a = 1110.3 pm, b = 1643.7 pm, c = 1356.4 pm, α = 89.960°, β = 112.850° and γ = 89.9°, formulas per cell Z = 4.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 S. Stella Mary, S. Shahil Kirupavathy, P. Mythili, R. Gopalakrishnan (2008): "Growth and characterization of sodium pentaborate [Na(H4B5O10)] single crystals". Spectrochimica Acta Part A, volume 71, issue 4, 15 pages 1311-1316. doi:10.1016/j.saa.2008.04.021
  2. M. Briggs (2001): "Boron Oxides, Boric Acid, and Borates". Chapter of the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. Wiley.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Aquabor 2 MSR". Product page in the Mineira Santa Rita company website. Accessed on 2022-06-27.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Taha Cagri Senocak, Taha Alper Yilmaz, Hasan Feyzi Budak, Gokhan Gulten, Ahmet Melik Yilmaz, Kadri Vefa Ezirmik, Yasar Totikc (2022): "Influence of sodium pentaborate (B5H10NaO13) additive in plasma electrolytic oxidation process on WE43 magnesium alloys". Materials Today Communications, volume 30, article 103157. doi:10.1016/j.mtcomm.2022.103157
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Solubor DF". Product page in the 20 Mule Team Borax company website. Accessed on 2022-06-27.
  6. Silvio Menchetti and Cesare Sabelli (1977): "The crystal structure of synthetic sodium pentaborate monohydrate". Acta Crystallographica Section B, volume B33, pages 3730-3733. doi:10.1107/S0567740877011959