Borax is prepared from

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calcium carbonate

magnesium carbonate

potassium carbonate

sodium carbonate

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UPSC CAPF – 2022

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Borax is sodium tetraborate decahydrate ($\text{Na}_2\text{B}_4\text{O}_7\cdot10\text{H}_2\text{O}$). It is a compound of sodium and boron. While industrially it is often extracted from naturally occurring borate minerals like kernite or colemanite, it can also be synthesized. One method of synthesizing borax in the lab involves reacting boric acid ($\text{H}_3\text{BO}_3$) with a sodium compound. Among the given options, sodium carbonate ($\text{Na}_2\text{CO}_3$) is a common reactant used in the preparation of borax from boric acid. The reaction is:
$4\text{H}_3\text{BO}_3 + \text{Na}_2\text{CO}_3 \rightarrow \text{Na}_2\text{B}_4\text{O}_7 + 6\text{H}_2\text{O} + \text{CO}_2$
This yields anhydrous sodium tetraborate, which can then be hydrated to form borax. Given the options, sodium carbonate is the most suitable precursor listed for the preparation of borax.

– Borax is a sodium borate compound.
– Its preparation often involves a sodium source and a boron source.
– Sodium carbonate is a common sodium source used in synthesizing borax from boric acid.

Other sodium compounds like sodium hydroxide ($\text{NaOH}$) can also be used to react with boric acid to produce borax, but $\text{Na}_2\text{CO}_3$ is explicitly listed as an option. Borax is an important boron compound used in various applications, including detergents, cosmetics, and as a flux in metallurgy.

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