What is the difference between borax and boric acid

Both borax and boric acid can be used as all-purpose cleaners. They are often added to laundry detergents and cleaners to clean just about anything. Borax and boric acid are effective stain-removers, disinfectants, deodorizers, and mold-killers. By: Editorial Staff Updated: Feb, Did this article help you? Yes No. Thank you! What was wrong? The facts are wrong. Borax is a mineral. It is a salt of boric acid. Boric acid is a weak, monobasic Lewis acid of boron.

It has many applications such as use as an insecticide, antiseptic, flame retardant, etc. It is also known as sodium borate. It is a very important compound formed by boron. The molar mass of borax is It appears as a white solid. It is composed of soft, colorless crystals that are easily dissolved in water.

The crystal structure is monoclinic prismatic. The term borax is used to name several closely related compounds of sodium borate. But it is usually used for hydrated sodium borate having 10 water molecules per sodium borate unit sodium tetraborate decahydrate. When considering the chemical structure of this compound, there are two types of boron atoms: two of the four boron atoms form four coordinate bonds whereas the other two boron atoms form only three coordinate bonds.

They have tetrahedral structures and triangle structures respectively. Figure 1: Borax Solid Compound. Boric acid is a Lewis acid of boron having the chemical formula BH 3 O 3.

In its mineral form from which it is derived, boric powder is named as sassolite. We can prepare boric acid by the reaction between borax and mineral acids such as HCl acid. It is also formed as a byproduct of the hydrolysis process of boron trihalide and diborane. Usually, boric powder is water-soluble, specifically in boiling water.

However, above Celsius degrees, this substance tends to dehydrate, forming metaboric acid or HBO2. There are many different uses of boric powder including the manufacture of monofilament fibreglass or textile fibreglass, to reduce surface oxidation in the jewellery industry, as an in gradient in the electroplating process, as an antiseptic substance, as an ingredient in insecticides, in flame retardants, as a neutron absorber, and as a precursor to other chemical compounds.

Borax and boric powder are inorganic chemical compounds of boron chemical element. The key difference between borax and boric powder is that borax is a naturally occurring mineral whereas boric powder is produced industrially from borax.

Borax is as an ingredient in laundry products, cleaning agents, and in making buffer solutions. Its some of the other uses are in forming complexes with various other substances, in water-softening, and for the extraction of gold in small scale gold mining processes. Boric, on the other hand, is used in the manufacture of monofilament fibreglass or textile fibreglass, to reduce surface oxidation in the jewellery industry, as an in gradient in the electroplating process, as an antiseptic substance, as an ingredient in insecticides, in flame retardants, as a neutron absorber, and as a precursor to other chemical compounds.

Borax and boric powder are inorganic chemical compounds of the chemical element boron.