On the Volatility of Borax

Abstract

IN a discussion of the standardisation of hydrochloric acid with different standard substances (J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 70, 1772, 1926), I made the following remark: “After the substance [borax] had been dried at 200°, the crucible was placed in an electric oven at a temperature of 700–750°, until constant weight was attained. When afterwards it was heated at 800°, at which temperature the salt fuses, the weight did not change. We cannot confirm the statement of H. V. A. Briscoe, P. L. Robinson, and G. E. Stephenson (J. Chem. Soc., 122, 150, 1925), who state that fused borax loses sodium oxide. Even after the substance had been heated for two hours at 800° the weight did not change.”