What is Borax?
Borax or sodium borate is defined as the mineral or it can be taken as the inorganic salt too. It is majorly used in laundry and other cleaning products too. The chemical formula for the compound is written as Na2B4O7.10H2O with a molar mass of 201.22 g mol-1 approx. This is an anhydrous salt whose structure is little complex where 4 boron atoms are connected to 7 oxygen atoms ahead with a bicyclic structure.
Borax Chemical structure
The chemical structure for the compound could be written as below.
The compound is available in dry lakes deposits in California, USA, or Turkey. Furthermore, minerals can also be treated for obtaining borax. As we know, most of the borax is extracted in the natural state only. Still, there are a few industrial processes that can be used for preparing the same compound. Once they are prepared synthetically, they can be purified by the recrystallization process.
Borax Formula Na2B4O7.10H2O
Borax is defined as the white crystalline powder whose melting point is 75 degree Celsius and boiling point is taken as the 320 degree Celsius. The density of the compound is defined as the 1.73 g mL-1 and this is highly soluble in water too. It is largely used by food, chemical or other pharmaceutical industries. It is also used as an additive in medicines.
About Borax
It can be used within industries to prepare buffer solutions and regulating the pH products. This is just a wonderful alternative to mercury and used in gold mining. It can also be used a neutron capture in nuclear reactors.