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Borax

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In chemistry , a salt or ionic compound is a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of positively charged ions ( cations ) and negatively charged ions ( anions ), which results in a compound with no net electric charge (electrically neutral). The constituent ions are held together by electrostatic forces termed ionic bonds .

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120-483: Borax (also referred to as sodium borate , tincal ( / ˈ t ɪ ŋ k əl / ) and tincar ( / ˈ t ɪ ŋ k ər / ) ) is a salt ( ionic compound), a hydrated or anhydrous borate of sodium , with the chemical formula Na 2 H 20 B 4 O 17 . It is a colorless crystalline solid that dissolves in water to make a basic solution . It is commonly available in powder or granular form and has many industrial and household uses, including as

240-444: A magnetic field . Electrons, due to their smaller mass and thus larger space-filling properties as matter waves , determine the size of atoms and molecules that possess any electrons at all. Thus, anions (negatively charged ions) are larger than the parent molecule or atom, as the excess electron(s) repel each other and add to the physical size of the ion, because its size is determined by its electron cloud . Cations are smaller than

360-436: A pesticide , as a metal soldering flux , as a component of glass , enamel , and pottery glazes , for tanning of skins and hides , for artificial aging of wood, as a preservative against wood fungus , and as a pharmaceutic alkalizer . In chemical laboratories, it is used as a buffering agent. The terms tincal and tincar refer to native borax, historically mined from dry lake beds in various parts of Asia. Borax

480-403: A base. This is also true of some compounds with ionic character, typically oxides or hydroxides of less-electropositive metals (so the compound also has significant covalent character), such as zinc oxide , aluminium hydroxide , aluminium oxide and lead(II) oxide . Electrostatic forces between particles are strongest when the charges are high, and the distance between the nuclei of the ions

600-448: A chemical perspective, borax contains the [B 4 O 5 (OH) 4 ] ion. In this structure, there are two four-coordinate boron centers and two three-coordinate boron centers. It is a proton conductor at temperatures above 21 °C. Conductivity is maximum along the b- axis. Borax is also easily converted to boric acid and other borates , which have many applications. Its reaction with hydrochloric acid to form boric acid is: Borax

720-764: A consequence, certain foods, such as caviar , produced for sale in the United States contain higher levels of salt to assist preservation. In addition to its use as a preservative, borax imparts a firm, rubbery texture to food. In China , borax ( Chinese : 硼砂 ; pinyin : péng shā or Chinese : 月石 ; pinyin : yuè shí ) has been found in foods including wheat and rice noodles named lamian ( Chinese : 拉面 ; pinyin : lāmiàn ), shahe fen ( Chinese : 沙河粉 ; pinyin : shāhéfěn ), char kway teow ( Chinese : 粿條 ; pinyin : guǒ tiáo ), and chee cheong fun ( Chinese : 肠粉 ; pinyin : chángfěn ) In Indonesia , it

840-454: A free electron and a positive ion. Ions are also created by chemical interactions, such as the dissolution of a salt in liquids, or by other means, such as passing a direct current through a conducting solution, dissolving an anode via ionization . The word ion was coined from neuter present participle of Greek ἰέναι ( ienai ), meaning "to go". A cation is something that moves down ( Greek : κάτω , kato , meaning "down") and an anion

960-415: A gas is extensively used for the detection of radiation such as alpha , beta , gamma , and X-rays . The original ionization event in these instruments results in the formation of an "ion pair"; a positive ion and a free electron, by ion impact by the radiation on the gas molecules. The ionization chamber is the simplest of these detectors, and collects all the charges created by direct ionization within

1080-400: A gas with less net electric charge is called the ionization potential , or ionization energy . The n th ionization energy of an atom is the energy required to detach its n th electron after the first n − 1 electrons have already been detached. Each successive ionization energy is markedly greater than the last. Particularly great increases occur after any given block of atomic orbitals

1200-483: A minus indication "Anion (−)" indicates the negative charge. With a cation it is just the opposite: it has fewer electrons than protons, giving it a net positive charge, hence the indication "Cation (+)". Since the electric charge on a proton is equal in magnitude to the charge on an electron, the net electric charge on an ion is equal to the number of protons in the ion minus the number of electrons. An anion (−) ( / ˈ æ n ˌ aɪ . ən / ANN -eye-ən , from

1320-440: A molecule/atom with multiple charges is by drawing out the signs multiple times, this is often seen with transition metals. Chemists sometimes circle the sign; this is merely ornamental and does not alter the chemical meaning. All three representations of Fe , Fe , and Fe shown in the figure, are thus equivalent. Monatomic ions are sometimes also denoted with Roman numerals , particularly in spectroscopy ; for example,

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1440-415: A network with long-range crystalline order. Many other inorganic compounds were also found to have similar structural features. These compounds were soon described as being constituted of ions rather than neutral atoms , but proof of this hypothesis was not found until the mid-1920s, when X-ray reflection experiments (which detect the density of electrons), were performed. Principal contributors to

1560-402: A neutral atom or molecule is called ionization . Atoms can be ionized by bombardment with radiation , but the more usual process of ionization encountered in chemistry is the transfer of electrons between atoms or molecules. This transfer is usually driven by the attaining of stable ("closed shell") electronic configurations . Atoms will gain or lose electrons depending on which action takes

1680-453: A paste and then heated to a temperature where the ions in neighboring reactants can diffuse together during the time the reactant mixture remains in the oven. Other synthetic routes use a solid precursor with the correct stoichiometric ratio of non-volatile ions, which is heated to drive off other species. In some reactions between highly reactive metals (usually from Group 1 or Group 2 ) and highly electronegative halogen gases, or water,

1800-592: A positive charge, forming the ion NH + 3 . However, this ion is unstable, because it has an incomplete valence shell around the nitrogen atom, making it a very reactive radical ion. Due to the instability of radical ions, polyatomic and molecular ions are usually formed by gaining or losing elemental ions such as H , rather than gaining or losing electrons. This allows the molecule to preserve its stable electronic configuration while acquiring an electrical charge. The energy required to detach an electron in its lowest energy state from an atom or molecule of

1920-416: A potential energy well with minimum energy when the nuclei are separated by a specific equilibrium distance. If the electronic structure of the two interacting bodies is affected by the presence of one another, covalent interactions (non-ionic) also contribute to the overall energy of the compound formed. Salts are rarely purely ionic, i.e. held together only by electrostatic forces. The bonds between even

2040-411: A precise ionic gradient across membranes , the disruption of this gradient contributes to cell death. This is a common mechanism exploited by natural and artificial biocides , including the ion channels gramicidin and amphotericin (a fungicide ). Inorganic dissolved ions are a component of total dissolved solids , a widely known indicator of water quality . The ionizing effect of radiation on

2160-400: A reducing agent such as carbon) such that the metal ions gain electrons to become neutral atoms. According to the nomenclature recommended by IUPAC , salts are named according to their composition, not their structure. In the most simple case of a binary salt with no possible ambiguity about the charges and thus the stoichiometry , the common name is written using two words. The name of

2280-436: A risk concern and do not exceed the level of concern..." but that there could be some risk of irritation to children inhaling it if used as a powder for cleaning rugs. Overexposure to borax dust can cause respiratory irritation, while no skin irritation is known to exist due to external borax exposure. Ingestion may cause gastrointestinal distress including nausea , persistent vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea . Effects on

2400-529: A role in determining the strength of the interactions and propensity to melt. Even when the local structure and bonding of an ionic solid is disrupted sufficiently to melt it, there are still strong long-range electrostatic forces of attraction holding the liquid together and preventing ions boiling to form a gas phase. This means that even room temperature ionic liquids have low vapour pressures, and require substantially higher temperatures to boil. Boiling points exhibit similar trends to melting points in terms of

2520-503: A salt can be either inorganic , such as chloride (Cl ), or organic , such as acetate ( CH 3 COO ). Each ion can be either monatomic (termed simple ion ), such as sodium (Na ) and chloride (Cl ) in sodium chloride , or polyatomic , such as ammonium ( NH 4 ) and carbonate ( CO 3 ) ions in ammonium carbonate . Salts containing basic ions hydroxide (OH ) or oxide (O ) are classified as bases , for example sodium hydroxide . Individual ions within

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2640-460: A salt usually have multiple near neighbours, so they are not considered to be part of molecules, but instead part of a continuous three-dimensional network. Salts usually form crystalline structures when solid. Salts composed of small ions typically have high melting and boiling points , and are hard and brittle . As solids they are almost always electrically insulating , but when melted or dissolved they become highly conductive , because

2760-498: A shorter wavelength when they are involved in more covalent interactions. This occurs during hydration of metal ions, so colorless anhydrous salts with an anion absorbing in the infrared can become colorful in solution. Salts exist in many different colors , which arise either from their constituent anions, cations or solvates . For example: Some minerals are salts, some of which are soluble in water. Similarly, inorganic pigments tend not to be salts, because insolubility

2880-414: A stable configuration. This property is known as electropositivity . Non-metals, on the other hand, are characterized by having an electron configuration just a few electrons short of a stable configuration. As such, they have the tendency to gain more electrons in order to achieve a stable configuration. This tendency is known as electronegativity . When a highly electropositive metal is combined with

3000-464: A suitable polymer bed are used to chromatograph non- glycated hemoglobin differentially from glycated hemoglobin (chiefly HbA1c ), which is an indicator of long-term hyperglycemia in diabetes mellitus . Borax alone does not have a high affinity for hardness cations , although it has been used for water-softening. Its chemical equation for water-softening is given below: The sodium ions introduced do not make water "hard". This method

3120-527: A variety of structures are commonly observed, and theoretically rationalized by Pauling's rules . In some cases, the anions take on a simple cubic packing and the resulting common structures observed are: Some ionic liquids , particularly with mixtures of anions or cations, can be cooled rapidly enough that there is not enough time for crystal nucleation to occur, so an ionic glass is formed (with no long-range order). Within any crystal, there will usually be some defects. To maintain electroneutrality of

3240-626: A wide variety of uses and applications. Many minerals are ionic. Humans have processed common salt (sodium chloride) for over 8000 years, using it first as a food seasoning and preservative, and now also in manufacturing, agriculture , water conditioning, for de-icing roads, and many other uses. Many salts are so widely used in society that they go by common names unrelated to their chemical identity. Examples of this include borax , calomel , milk of magnesia , muriatic acid , oil of vitriol , saltpeter , and slaked lime . Soluble salts can easily be dissolved to provide electrolyte solutions. This

3360-401: A −2 charge is known as a dianion and an ion with a +2 charge is known as a dication . A zwitterion is a neutral molecule with positive and negative charges at different locations within that molecule. Cations and anions are measured by their ionic radius and they differ in relative size: "Cations are small, most of them less than 10 m (10 cm) in radius. But most anions are large, as is

3480-483: Is K). When one of the ions already has a multiplicative prefix within its name, the alternate multiplicative prefixes ( bis- , tris- , tetrakis- , ...) are used. For example, Ba(BrF 4 ) 2 is named barium bis(tetrafluoridobromate) . Compounds containing one or more elements which can exist in a variety of charge/ oxidation states will have a stoichiometry that depends on which oxidation states are present, to ensure overall neutrality. This can be indicated in

3600-444: Is a common, but forbidden, additive to such foods as noodles, bakso (meatballs), and steamed rice. When consumed with boric acid, numerous studies have demonstrated a negative association between borax and various types of cancers. Boric acid and borax are low in toxicity for acute oral exposures, at approximately the same acute toxicity as salt. The average dose for asymptomatic ingestion cases, which accounts for 88% of all ingestions,

3720-416: Is a negatively charged ion with more electrons than protons. (e.g. Cl (chloride ion) and OH (hydroxide ion)). Opposite electric charges are pulled towards one another by electrostatic force , so cations and anions attract each other and readily form ionic compounds . If only a + or - is present, it indicates a +1 or -1 charge. To indicate a more severe charge, the number of additional or missing atoms

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3840-407: Is a simple way to control the concentration and ionic strength . The concentration of solutes affects many colligative properties , including increasing the osmotic pressure , and causing freezing-point depression and boiling-point elevation . Because the solutes are charged ions they also increase the electrical conductivity of the solution. The increased ionic strength reduces the thickness of

3960-420: Is actually a trihydrate Na 2 B 4 O 5 (OH) 4 ·3H 2 O . It is a colorless solid with a density of 1.880 kg/m that crystallizes from water solutions above 60.8 °C in the rhombohedral crystal system . It occurs naturally as the mineral tinkhanite . It can be obtained by heating the "decahydrate" above 61 °C. Borax "dihydrate" has the formula Na 2 B 4 O 7 ·2H 2 O , which

4080-474: Is actually anhydrous, with the correct formula Na 2 B 4 O 5 (OH) 4 . It can be obtained by heating the "decahydrate" or "pentahydrate" to above 116-120 °C. Anhydrous borax is sodium tetraborate proper, with formula Na 2 B 4 O 7 . It can be obtained by heating any hydrate to 300 °C. It has one amorphous (glassy) form and three crystalline forms – α, β, and γ, with melting points of 1015, 993 and 936 K respectively. α- Na 2 B 4 O 7

4200-484: Is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge . The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton , which is considered to be positive by convention. The net charge of an ion is not zero because its total number of electrons is unequal to its total number of protons. A cation is a positively charged ion with fewer electrons than protons (e.g. K (potassium ion)) while an anion

4320-436: Is around 0.9 grams. However, the range of reported asymptomatic doses is wide, from 0.01 to 88.8 g. Other uses include: According to one study, borax is not acutely toxic. Its LD 50 (median lethal dose) score is tested at 2.66 g/kg in rats, meaning that a significant dose of the chemical is needed to cause severe symptoms or death. The lethal dose is not necessarily the same for humans. On pesticide information websites it

4440-469: Is based on silicone polymers), can be made by cross-linking polyvinyl alcohol with borax. Making flubber from polyvinyl acetate -based glues , such as Elmer's Glue , and borax is a common elementary science demonstration. Borax, given the E number E285 , is used as a food additive but this use is banned in some countries, such as Australia , China , Thailand and the United States . As

4560-429: Is exhausted of electrons. For this reason, ions tend to form in ways that leave them with full orbital blocks. For example, sodium has one valence electron in its outermost shell, so in ionized form it is commonly found with one lost electron, as Na . On the other side of the periodic table, chlorine has seven valence electrons, so in ionized form it is commonly found with one gained electron, as Cl . Caesium has

4680-400: Is highest in polar solvents (such as water ) or ionic liquids , but tends to be low in nonpolar solvents (such as petrol / gasoline ). This contrast is principally because the resulting ion–dipole interactions are significantly stronger than ion-induced dipole interactions, so the heat of solution is higher. When the oppositely charged ions in the solid ionic lattice are surrounded by

4800-615: Is in the breakdown of adenosine triphosphate ( ATP ), which provides the energy for many reactions in biological systems. Ions can be non-chemically prepared using various ion sources , usually involving high voltage or temperature. These are used in a multitude of devices such as mass spectrometers , optical emission spectrometers , particle accelerators , ion implanters , and ion engines . As reactive charged particles, they are also used in air purification by disrupting microbes, and in household items such as smoke detectors . As signalling and metabolism in organisms are controlled by

4920-506: Is listed as a non-lethal compound and of no hazardous concerns. Borax has been in use as an insecticide in the United States with various restrictions since 1946. All restrictions were removed in February 1986 due to the low toxicity of borax, as reported in two EPA documents relating to boric acid and borax. EPA has determined that, because they are of low toxicity and occur naturally, boric acid and its sodium salts should be exempted from

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5040-535: Is named iron(2+) sulfate (with the 2+ charge on the Fe ions balancing the 2− charge on the sulfate ion), whereas Fe 2 (SO 4 ) 3 is named iron(3+) sulfate (because the two iron ions in each formula unit each have a charge of 3+, to balance the 2− on each of the three sulfate ions). Stock nomenclature , still in common use, writes the oxidation number in Roman numerals (... , −II, −I, 0, I, II, ...). So

5160-417: Is not consistent with its structure. It is actually octahydrate. The anion is not tetraborate [B 4 O 7 ] but tetrahydroxy tetraborate [B 4 O 5 (OH) 4 ] , so the more correct formula should be Na 2 B 4 O 5 (OH) 4 ·8H 2 O . However, the term may be applied also to the related compounds. Borax "pentahydrate" has the formula Na 2 B 4 O 7 ·5H 2 O , which

5280-622: Is not with any one product, but rather multiple exposures from a variety of sources. With this in mind, the department also announced that certain pesticides that contain boric acid, which are commonly used in homes, will have their registrations cancelled and be phased out of the marketplace. As well, new, more protective label directions are being introduced for other boric acid pesticides that continue to be registered in Canada (for example, enclosed bait stations and spot treatments using gel formulations). Salt (chemistry) The component ions in

5400-607: Is one short of the stable, filled shell with 8 electrons. Thus, a chlorine atom tends to gain an extra electron and attain a stable 8- electron configuration , becoming a chloride anion in the process: This driving force is what causes sodium and chlorine to undergo a chemical reaction, wherein the "extra" electron is transferred from sodium to chlorine, forming sodium cations and chloride anions. Being oppositely charged, these cations and anions form ionic bonds and combine to form sodium chloride , NaCl, more commonly known as table salt. Polyatomic and molecular ions are often formed by

5520-647: Is part of the EU Regulations on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals 2006 (REACH), and the addition was based on the revised classification of borax as toxic for reproduction category 1B under the CLP Regulations . Substances and mixtures imported into the EU which contain borax are now required to be labelled with the warnings "May damage fertility" and "May damage

5640-451: Is possible to mix the notations for the individual metal centre with a polyatomic complex, as shown by the uranyl ion example. If an ion contains unpaired electrons , it is called a radical ion. Just like uncharged radicals, radical ions are very reactive. Polyatomic ions containing oxygen, such as carbonate and sulfate, are called oxyanions . Molecular ions that contain at least one carbon to hydrogen bond are called organic ions . If

5760-548: Is required for fastness. Some organic dyes are salts, but they are virtually insoluble in water. Salts can elicit all five basic tastes , e.g., salty ( sodium chloride ), sweet ( lead diacetate , which will cause lead poisoning if ingested), sour ( potassium bitartrate ), bitter ( magnesium sulfate ), and umami or savory ( monosodium glutamate ). Salts of strong acids and strong bases (" strong salts ") are non- volatile and often odorless, whereas salts of either weak acids or weak bases (" weak salts ") may smell like

5880-414: Is small. In such cases, the compounds generally have very high melting and boiling points and a low vapour pressure . Trends in melting points can be even better explained when the structure and ionic size ratio is taken into account. Above their melting point, salts melt and become molten salts (although some salts such as aluminium chloride and iron(III) chloride show molecule-like structures in

6000-473: Is something that moves up ( Greek : ἄνω , ano , meaning "up"). They are so called because ions move toward the electrode of opposite charge. This term was introduced (after a suggestion by the English polymath William Whewell ) by English physicist and chemist Michael Faraday in 1834 for the then-unknown species that goes from one electrode to the other through an aqueous medium. Faraday did not know

6120-474: Is sufficiently stable to find use as a primary standard for acid-base titrimetry . Molten borax dissolves many metal oxides to form glasses. This property is important for its uses in metallurgy and for the borax bead test of qualitative chemical analysis. Borax is soluble in a variety of solvents; however, it is notably insoluble in ethanol. The term borax properly refers to the so-called "decahydrate" Na 2 B 4 O 7 ·10H 2 O , but that name

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6240-413: Is suitable for removing both temporary and permanent types of hardness. A mixture of borax and ammonium chloride is used as a flux when welding iron and steel . It lowers the melting point of the unwanted iron oxide ( scale ), allowing it to run off. Borax is also mixed with water as a flux when soldering jewelry metals such as gold or silver , where it allows the molten solder to wet

6360-415: Is supplied, as seen in O 2 (negative charge, peroxide ) and He (positive charge, alpha particle ). Ions consisting of only a single atom are termed atomic or monatomic ions , while two or more atoms form molecular ions or polyatomic ions . In the case of physical ionization in a fluid (gas or liquid), "ion pairs" are created by spontaneous molecule collisions, where each generated pair consists of

6480-551: Is the formation of an F-center , a free electron occupying an anion vacancy. When the compound has three or more ionic components, even more defect types are possible. All of these point defects can be generated via thermal vibrations and have an equilibrium concentration. Because they are energetically costly but entropically beneficial, they occur in greater concentration at higher temperatures. Once generated, these pairs of defects can diffuse mostly independently of one another, by hopping between lattice sites. This defect mobility

6600-421: Is the source of most transport phenomena within an ionic crystal, including diffusion and solid state ionic conductivity . When vacancies collide with interstitials (Frenkel), they can recombine and annihilate one another. Similarly, vacancies are removed when they reach the surface of the crystal (Schottky). Defects in the crystal structure generally expand the lattice parameters , reducing the overall density of

6720-842: Is the stable form. Borax occurs naturally in evaporite deposits produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes . The most commercially important deposits are found in: Turkey ; Boron, California ; and Searles Lake , California . Also, borax has been found at many other locations in the Southwestern United States , the Atacama Desert in Chile , newly discovered deposits in Bolivia , and in Tibet and Romania . Borax can also be produced synthetically from other boron compounds. Naturally occurring borax (known by

6840-411: Is the summation of the interaction of all sites with all other sites. For unpolarizable spherical ions, only the charges and distances are required to determine the electrostatic interaction energy. For any particular ideal crystal structure, all distances are geometrically related to the smallest internuclear distance. So for each possible crystal structure, the total electrostatic energy can be related to

6960-432: Is written in superscript immediately after the chemical structure for the molecule/atom. The net charge is written with the magnitude before the sign; that is, a doubly charged cation is indicated as 2+ instead of +2 . However, the magnitude of the charge is omitted for singly charged molecules/atoms; for example, the sodium cation is indicated as Na and not Na . An alternative (and acceptable) way of showing

7080-556: The Fe (positively doubly charged) example seen above is referred to as Fe(III) , Fe or Fe III (Fe I for a neutral Fe atom, Fe II for a singly ionized Fe ion). The Roman numeral designates the formal oxidation state of an element, whereas the superscripted Indo-Arabic numerals denote the net charge. The two notations are, therefore, exchangeable for monatomic ions, but the Roman numerals cannot be applied to polyatomic ions. However, it

7200-482: The Kapustinskii equation . Using an even simpler approximation of the ions as impenetrable hard spheres, the arrangement of anions in these systems are often related to close-packed arrangements of spheres, with the cations occupying tetrahedral or octahedral interstices . Depending on the stoichiometry of the salt, and the coordination (principally determined by the radius ratio ) of cations and anions,

7320-416: The anhydrous material. Molten salts will solidify on cooling to below their freezing point . This is sometimes used for the solid-state synthesis of complex salts from solid reactants, which are first melted together. In other cases, the solid reactants do not need to be melted, but instead can react through a solid-state reaction route . In this method, the reactants are repeatedly finely ground into

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7440-405: The conjugate acid (e.g., acetates like acetic acid ( vinegar ) and cyanides like hydrogen cyanide ( almonds )) or the conjugate base (e.g., ammonium salts like ammonia ) of the component ions. That slow, partial decomposition is usually accelerated by the presence of water, since hydrolysis is the other half of the reversible reaction equation of formation of weak salts. Salts have long had

7560-580: The electrical double layer around colloidal particles, and therefore the stability of emulsions and suspensions . The chemical identity of the ions added is also important in many uses. For example, fluoride containing compounds are dissolved to supply fluoride ions for water fluoridation . Solid salts have long been used as paint pigments, and are resistant to organic solvents, but are sensitive to acidity or basicity. Since 1801 pyrotechnicians have described and widely used metal-containing salts as sources of colour in fireworks. Under intense heat,

7680-435: The electronegative halogens gases to salts. Salts form upon evaporation of their solutions . Once the solution is supersaturated and the solid compound nucleates. This process occurs widely in nature and is the means of formation of the evaporite minerals. Insoluble salts can be precipitated by mixing two solutions, one with the cation and one with the anion in it. Because all solutions are electrically neutral,

7800-540: The 9th century, and from Arabic bawraq, būraq, bōraq ( بورق ) as mentioned for example in Kitab al-Tabikh of Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq . The words tincal and tincar were adopted into English in the 17th century from Malay tingkal and from Urdu / Persian / Arabic تنکار ‎ tinkār/tankār ; thus the two forms in English. These all appear to be related to the Sanskrit टांकण ṭānkaṇa . From

7920-541: The Greek word ἄνω ( ánō ), meaning "up" ) is an ion with more electrons than protons, giving it a net negative charge (since electrons are negatively charged and protons are positively charged). A cation (+) ( / ˈ k æ t ˌ aɪ . ən / KAT -eye-ən , from the Greek word κάτω ( kátō ), meaning "down" ) is an ion with fewer electrons than protons, giving it a positive charge. There are additional names used for ions with multiple charges. For example, an ion with

8040-658: The anion and cation. This difference in electronegativities means that the charge separation, and resulting dipole moment, is maintained even when the ions are in contact (the excess electrons on the anions are not transferred or polarized to neutralize the cations). Although chemists classify idealized bond types as being ionic or covalent, the existence of additional types such as hydrogen bonds and metallic bonds , for example, has led some philosophers of science to suggest that alternative approaches to understanding bonding are required. This could be by applying quantum mechanics to calculate binding energies. The lattice energy

8160-511: The anions and net positive charge of the cations. There is also a small additional attractive force from van der Waals interactions which contributes only around 1–2% of the cohesive energy for small ions. When a pair of ions comes close enough for their outer electron shells (most simple ions have closed shells ) to overlap, a short-ranged repulsive force occurs, due to the Pauli exclusion principle . The balance between these forces leads to

8280-462: The atoms can be ionized by electron transfer , a process thermodynamically understood using the Born–Haber cycle . Salts are formed by salt-forming reactions Ions in salts are primarily held together by the electrostatic forces between the charge distribution of these bodies, and in particular, the ionic bond resulting from the long-ranged Coulomb attraction between the net negative charge of

8400-590: The cation (the unmodified element name for monatomic cations) comes first, followed by the name of the anion. For example, MgCl 2 is named magnesium chloride , and Na 2 SO 4 is named sodium sulfate ( SO 4 , sulfate , is an example of a polyatomic ion ). To obtain the empirical formula from these names, the stoichiometry can be deduced from the charges on the ions, and the requirement of overall charge neutrality. If there are multiple different cations and/or anions, multiplicative prefixes ( di- , tri- , tetra- , ...) are often required to indicate

8520-519: The charge in an organic ion is formally centred on a carbon, it is termed a carbocation (if positively charged) or carbanion (if negatively charged). Monatomic ions are formed by the gain or loss of electrons to the valence shell (the outer-most electron shell) in an atom. The inner shells of an atom are filled with electrons that are tightly bound to the positively charged atomic nucleus , and so do not participate in this kind of chemical interaction. The process of gaining or losing electrons from

8640-558: The compound is the result of a reaction between a strong acid and a weak base , the result is an acid salt . If it is the result of a reaction between a strong base and a weak acid , the result is a base salt . If it is the result of a reaction between a strong acid and a strong base, the result is a neutral salt. Weak acids reacted with weak bases can produce ionic compounds with both the conjugate base ion and conjugate acid ion, such as ammonium acetate . Some ions are classed as amphoteric , being able to react with either an acid or

8760-462: The constituent ions, or the hydrated form of the same compound. The anions in compounds with bonds with the most ionic character tend to be colorless (with an absorption band in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum). In compounds with less ionic character, their color deepens through yellow, orange, red, and black (as the absorption band shifts to longer wavelengths into the visible spectrum). The absorption band of simple cations shifts toward

8880-409: The corresponding parent atom or molecule due to the smaller size of the electron cloud. One particular cation (that of hydrogen) contains no electrons, and thus consists of a single proton – much smaller than the parent hydrogen atom. Anion (−) and cation (+) indicate the net electric charge on an ion. An ion that has more electrons than protons, giving it a net negative charge, is named an anion, and

9000-406: The counterions can be chosen to ensure that even when combined into a single solution they will remain soluble as spectator ions . If the solvent is water in either the evaporation or precipitation method of formation, in many cases the ionic crystal formed also includes water of crystallization , so the product is known as a hydrate , and can have very different chemical properties compared to

9120-861: The crystal. Defects also result in ions in distinctly different local environments, which causes them to experience a different crystal-field symmetry , especially in the case of different cations exchanging lattice sites. This results in a different splitting of d-electron orbitals , so that the optical absorption (and hence colour) can change with defect concentration. Ionic compounds containing hydrogen ions (H ) are classified as acids , and those containing electropositive cations and basic anions ions hydroxide (OH ) or oxide (O ) are classified as bases . Other ionic compounds are known as salts and can be formed by acid–base reactions . Salts that produce hydroxide ions when dissolved in water are called alkali salts , and salts that produce hydrogen ions when dissolved in water are called acid salts . If

9240-464: The crystals, defects that involve loss of a cation will be associated with loss of an anion, i.e. these defects come in pairs. Frenkel defects consist of a cation vacancy paired with a cation interstitial and can be generated anywhere in the bulk of the crystal, occurring most commonly in compounds with a low coordination number and cations that are much smaller than the anions. Schottky defects consist of one vacancy of each type, and are generated at

9360-483: The development of a theoretical treatment of ionic crystal structures were Max Born , Fritz Haber , Alfred Landé , Erwin Madelung , Paul Peter Ewald , and Kazimierz Fajans . Born predicted crystal energies based on the assumption of ionic constituents, which showed good correspondence to thermochemical measurements, further supporting the assumption. Many metals such as the alkali metals react directly with

9480-521: The electrons in the metal ions or small molecules can be excited. These electrons later return to lower energy states, and release light with a colour spectrum characteristic of the species present. In chemical synthesis , salts are often used as precursors for high-temperature solid-state synthesis. Many metals are geologically most abundant as salts within ores . To obtain the elemental materials, these ores are processed by smelting or electrolysis , in which redox reactions occur (often with

9600-569: The electrostatic energy of unit charges at the nearest neighboring distance by a multiplicative constant called the Madelung constant that can be efficiently computed using an Ewald sum . When a reasonable form is assumed for the additional repulsive energy, the total lattice energy can be modelled using the Born–Landé equation , the Born–Mayer equation , or in the absence of structural information,

9720-502: The examples given above would be named iron(II) sulfate and iron(III) sulfate respectively. For simple ions the ionic charge and the oxidation number are identical, but for polyatomic ions they often differ. For example, the uranyl(2+) ion, UO 2 , has uranium in an oxidation state of +6, so would be called a dioxouranium(VI) ion in Stock nomenclature. An even older naming system for metal cations, also still widely used, appended

9840-454: The gaining or losing of elemental ions such as a proton, H , in neutral molecules. For example, when ammonia , NH 3 , accepts a proton, H —a process called protonation —it forms the ammonium ion, NH + 4 . Ammonia and ammonium have the same number of electrons in essentially the same electronic configuration , but ammonium has an extra proton that gives it a net positive charge. Ammonia can also lose an electron to gain

9960-435: The gas through the application of an electric field. The Geiger–Müller tube and the proportional counter both use a phenomenon known as a Townsend avalanche to multiply the effect of the original ionizing event by means of a cascade effect whereby the free electrons are given sufficient energy by the electric field to release further electrons by ion impact. When writing the chemical formula for an ion, its net charge

10080-642: The highest exposed cohorts, are too low to reach the blood (and target tissue) concentrations that would be required to exert adverse effects on reproductive functions." A draft risk assessment released by Health Canada in July 2016 has found that overexposure to boric acid has the potential to cause developmental and reproductive health effects. Since people are already exposed to boric acid naturally through their diets and water, Health Canada advised that exposure from other sources should be reduced as much as possible, especially for children and pregnant women. The concern

10200-445: The ions become completely mobile. For this reason, molten salts and solutions containing dissolved salts (e.g., sodium chloride in water) can be used as electrolytes . This conductivity gain upon dissolving or melting is sometimes used as a defining characteristic of salts. In some unusual salts: fast-ion conductors , and ionic glasses , one or more of the ionic components has a significant mobility, allowing conductivity even while

10320-469: The ions become mobile. Some salts have large cations, large anions, or both. In terms of their properties, such species often are more similar to organic compounds. In 1913 the structure of sodium chloride was determined by William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg . This revealed that there were six equidistant nearest-neighbours for each atom, demonstrating that the constituents were not arranged in molecules or finite aggregates, but instead as

10440-417: The least energy. For example, a sodium atom, Na, has a single electron in its valence shell, surrounding 2 stable, filled inner shells of 2 and 8 electrons. Since these filled shells are very stable, a sodium atom tends to lose its extra electron and attain this stable configuration, becoming a sodium cation in the process On the other hand, a chlorine atom, Cl, has 7 electrons in its valence shell, which

10560-641: The liquid or solid state when salts interact with solvents (for example, water) to produce solvated ions , which are more stable, for reasons involving a combination of energy and entropy changes as the ions move away from each other to interact with the liquid. These stabilized species are more commonly found in the environment at low temperatures. A common example is the ions present in seawater, which are derived from dissolved salts. As charged objects, ions are attracted to opposite electric charges (positive to negative, and vice versa) and repelled by like charges. When they move, their trajectories can be deflected by

10680-446: The liquid phase). Inorganic compounds with simple ions typically have small ions, and thus have high melting points, so are solids at room temperature. Some substances with larger ions, however, have a melting point below or near room temperature (often defined as up to 100 °C), and are termed ionic liquids . Ions in ionic liquids often have uneven charge distributions, or bulky substituents like hydrocarbon chains, which also play

10800-409: The lowest measured ionization energy of all the elements and helium has the greatest. In general, the ionization energy of metals is much lower than the ionization energy of nonmetals , which is why, in general, metals will lose electrons to form positively charged ions and nonmetals will gain electrons to form negatively charged ions. Ionic bonding is a kind of chemical bonding that arises from

10920-510: The luminescence of the Sun to the existence of the Earth's ionosphere . Atoms in their ionic state may have a different color from neutral atoms, and thus light absorption by metal ions gives the color of gemstones . In both inorganic and organic chemistry (including biochemistry), the interaction of water and ions is often relevant for understanding properties of systems; an example of their importance

11040-399: The material as a whole remains solid. This is often highly temperature dependent, and may be the result of either a phase change or a high defect concentration. These materials are used in all solid-state supercapacitors , batteries , and fuel cells , and in various kinds of chemical sensors . The colour of a salt is often different from the colour of an aqueous solution containing

11160-443: The metal and flow evenly into the joint. Borax is also a good flux for "pre-tinning" tungsten with zinc , making the tungsten soft-solderable. Borax is often used as a flux for forge welding . In artisanal gold mining , borax is sometimes used as part of a process known as the borax method (as a flux) meant to eliminate the need for toxic mercury in the gold extraction process, although it cannot directly replace mercury. Borax

11280-528: The method by which borax was originally hauled out of the California and Nevada deserts . The English word borax is Latinized: the Middle English form was boras , from Old French boras, bourras . That may have been from Medieval Latin baurach (another English spelling), borac(-/um/em), borax , along with Spanish borrax (> borraj ) and Italian borrace , in

11400-427: The most electronegative / electropositive pairs such as those in caesium fluoride exhibit a small degree of covalency . Conversely, covalent bonds between unlike atoms often exhibit some charge separation and can be considered to have a partial ionic character. The circumstances under which a compound will have ionic or covalent character can typically be understood using Fajans' rules , which use only charges and

11520-479: The most common Earth anion, oxygen . From this fact it is apparent that most of the space of a crystal is occupied by the anion and that the cations fit into the spaces between them." The terms anion and cation (for ions that respectively travel to the anode and cathode during electrolysis) were introduced by Michael Faraday in 1834 following his consultation with William Whewell . Ions are ubiquitous in nature and are responsible for diverse phenomena from

11640-454: The mutual attraction of oppositely charged ions. Ions of like charge repel each other, and ions of opposite charge attract each other. Therefore, ions do not usually exist on their own, but will bind with ions of opposite charge to form a crystal lattice . The resulting compound is called an ionic compound , and is said to be held together by ionic bonding . In ionic compounds there arise characteristic distances between ion neighbours from which

11760-440: The name by specifying either the oxidation state of the elements present, or the charge on the ions. Because of the risk of ambiguity in allocating oxidation states, IUPAC prefers direct indication of the ionic charge numbers. These are written as an arabic integer followed by the sign (... , 2−, 1−, 1+, 2+, ...) in parentheses directly after the name of the cation (without a space separating them). For example, FeSO 4

11880-451: The nature of these species, but he knew that since metals dissolved into and entered a solution at one electrode and new metal came forth from a solution at the other electrode; that some kind of substance has moved through the solution in a current. This conveys matter from one place to the other. In correspondence with Faraday, Whewell also coined the words anode and cathode , as well as anion and cation as ions that are attracted to

12000-418: The newer SB buffer or BBS buffer (borate buffered saline) in coating procedures. Borate buffers (usually at pH 8) are also used as preferential equilibration solutions in dimethyl pimelimidate (DMP) based crosslinking reactions. Borax as a source of borate has been used to take advantage of the co-complexing ability of borate with other agents in water to form complex ions with various substances. Borate and

12120-467: The opposite pole of a polar molecule, the solid ions are pulled out of the lattice and into the liquid. If the solvation energy exceeds the lattice energy , the negative net enthalpy change of solution provides a thermodynamic drive to remove ions from their positions in the crystal and dissolve in the liquid. In addition, the entropy change of solution is usually positive for most solid solutes like salts, which means that their solubility increases when

12240-407: The relative compositions, and cations then anions are listed in alphabetical order. For example, KMgCl 3 is named magnesium potassium trichloride to distinguish it from K 2 MgCl 4 , magnesium dipotassium tetrachloride (note that in both the empirical formula and the written name, the cations appear in alphabetical order, but the order varies between them because the symbol for potassium

12360-555: The requirement of a tolerance (maximum residue limit) for all raw agricultural commodities. Although it cited inconclusive data, a re-evaluation in 2006 by the EPA still found that "There were no signs of toxicity observed during the study and no evidence of cytotoxicity to the target organ." In the reevaluation, a study of toxicity due to overexposure was checked and the findings were that "The residential handler inhalation risks due to boric acid and its sodium salts as active ingredients are not

12480-664: The respective electrodes. Svante Arrhenius put forth, in his 1884 dissertation, the explanation of the fact that solid crystalline salts dissociate into paired charged particles when dissolved, for which he would win the 1903 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Arrhenius' explanation was that in forming a solution, the salt dissociates into Faraday's ions, he proposed that ions formed even in the absence of an electric current. Ions in their gas-like state are highly reactive and will rapidly interact with ions of opposite charge to give neutral molecules or ionic salts. Ions are also produced in

12600-448: The size of ions and strength of other interactions. When vapourized, the ions are still not freed of one another. For example, in the vapour phase sodium chloride exists as diatomic "molecules". Most salts are very brittle . Once they reach the limit of their strength, they cannot deform malleably , because the strict alignment of positive and negative ions must be maintained. Instead the material undergoes fracture via cleavage . As

12720-418: The sizes of each ion. According to these rules, compounds with the most ionic character will have large positive ions with a low charge, bonded to a small negative ion with a high charge. More generally HSAB theory can be applied, whereby the compounds with the most ionic character are those consisting of hard acids and hard bases: small, highly charged ions with a high difference in electronegativities between

12840-420: The sodium chloride structure (coordination number 6), and less again than those with a coordination number of 4. When simple salts dissolve , they dissociate into individual ions, which are solvated and dispersed throughout the resulting solution. Salts do not exist in solution. In contrast, molecular compounds, which includes most organic compounds, remain intact in solution. The solubility of salts

12960-790: The solvent, so certain patterns become apparent. For example, salts of sodium , potassium and ammonium are usually soluble in water. Notable exceptions include ammonium hexachloroplatinate and potassium cobaltinitrite . Most nitrates and many sulfates are water-soluble. Exceptions include barium sulfate , calcium sulfate (sparingly soluble), and lead(II) sulfate , where the 2+/2− pairing leads to high lattice energies. For similar reasons, most metal carbonates are not soluble in water. Some soluble carbonate salts are: sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate and ammonium carbonate . Salts are characteristically insulators . Although they contain charged atoms or clusters, these materials do not typically conduct electricity to any significant extent when

13080-434: The spatial extension and the ionic radius of individual ions may be derived. The most common type of ionic bonding is seen in compounds of metals and nonmetals (except noble gases , which rarely form chemical compounds). Metals are characterized by having a small number of electrons in excess of a stable, closed-shell electronic configuration . As such, they have the tendency to lose these extra electrons in order to attain

13200-403: The substance is solid. In order to conduct, the charged particles must be mobile rather than stationary in a crystal lattice . This is achieved to some degree at high temperatures when the defect concentration increases the ionic mobility and solid state ionic conductivity is observed. When the salts are dissolved in a liquid or are melted into a liquid , they can conduct electricity because

13320-550: The suffixes -ous and -ic to the Latin root of the name, to give special names for the low and high oxidation states. For example, this scheme uses "ferrous" and "ferric", for iron(II) and iron(III) respectively, so the examples given above were classically named ferrous sulfate and ferric sulfate . Common salt-forming cations include: Common salt-forming anions (parent acids in parentheses where available) include: Anion An ion ( / ˈ aɪ . ɒ n , - ən / )

13440-422: The surfaces of a crystal, occurring most commonly in compounds with a high coordination number and when the anions and cations are of similar size. If the cations have multiple possible oxidation states , then it is possible for cation vacancies to compensate for electron deficiencies on cation sites with higher oxidation numbers, resulting in a non-stoichiometric compound . Another non-stoichiometric possibility

13560-399: The temperature increases. There are some unusual salts such as cerium(III) sulfate , where this entropy change is negative, due to extra order induced in the water upon solution, and the solubility decreases with temperature. The lattice energy , the cohesive forces between these ions within a solid, determines the solubility. The solubility is dependent on how well each ion interacts with

13680-413: The temperature is elevated (usually close to the melting point) a ductile–brittle transition occurs, and plastic flow becomes possible by the motion of dislocations . The compressibility of a salt is strongly determined by its structure, and in particular the coordination number . For example, halides with the caesium chloride structure (coordination number 8) are less compressible than those with

13800-751: The trade name Rasorite–46 in the United States and many other countries) is refined by a process of recrystallization . Borax is used in pest control solutions because it is toxic to ants and rats. Because it is slow-acting, worker ants will carry the borax to their nests and poison the rest of the colony. Borax is used in various household laundry and cleaning products, including the 20 Mule Team Borax laundry booster, Boraxo powdered hand soap, and some tooth bleaching formulas. Borate ions (commonly supplied as boric acid) are used in biochemical and chemical laboratories to make buffers , e.g. for polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of DNA and RNA, such as TBE buffer (borate buffered tris-hydroxymethylaminomethonium) or

13920-413: The two solutions mixed must also contain counterions of the opposite charges. To ensure that these do not contaminate the precipitated salt, it is important to ensure they do not also precipitate. If the two solutions have hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions as the counterions, they will react with one another in what is called an acid–base reaction or a neutralization reaction to form water. Alternately

14040-575: The unborn child". It was proposed for addition to REACH Annex XIV by the ECHA on July 1, 2015. If this recommendation is approved, all imports and uses of borax in the EU will have to be authorized by the ECHA. A review of the boron toxicity (as boric acid and borates) published in 2012 in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health concluded: "It clearly appears that human B [boron] exposures, even in

14160-520: The vascular system and human brain include headaches and lethargy but are less frequent. In severe cases, a "beefy" red rash affecting the palms, soles, buttocks and scrotum has occurred. The Indonesian Directorate of Consumer Protection warns of the risk of liver cancer with high consumption of borax over a period of 5–10 years. Borax was added to the Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) candidate list on December 16, 2010. The SVHC candidate list

14280-550: Was first discovered in dry lake beds in Tibet . Native tincal from Tibet, Persia , and other parts of Asia was traded via the Silk Road to the Arabian Peninsula in the 8th century AD. Borax first came into common use in the late 19th century when Francis Marion Smith 's Pacific Coast Borax Company began to market and popularize a large variety of applications under the 20 Mule Team Borax trademark , named for

14400-750: Was reportedly used by gold miners in parts of the Philippines in the 1900s. There is evidence that, in addition to reducing the environmental impact, this method achieves better gold recovery for suitable ores and is less expensive. This borax method is used in northern Luzon in the Philippines, but miners have been reluctant to adopt it elsewhere for reasons that are not well understood. The method has also been promoted in Bolivia and Tanzania. A rubbery polymer sometimes called Slime , Flubber , 'gluep' or 'glurch' (or erroneously called Silly Putty , which

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