Borax vs Sodium bicarbonate: what is the difference?
Sodium bicarbonate is an edible, mildly alkaline sodium salt, while borax is a more strongly alkaline boron compound that is not edible.
Sources and notes
- The sentence under the titlefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesThe pair's answer line.
- The two drawingscomputedMoleculeFinder rule (RDKit MCS)Each molecule's own drawing, as its page shows it. The common core, 1 of 11 atoms, is too small to align on.
Side by side
| Borax | Sodium bicarbonate | |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weightCalculated PubChem | 201.2 g/molB4Na2O7 | 84.01 g/molCHNaO3 |
| Hydrogen-bond donorsCalculated PubChem | 0 | 1 |
| Where each turns upEditorial MoleculeFinder food and product lists |
|
|
| FamilyEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Inorganic compounds | Other |
| Everyday groupEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Everyday chemistry | Food & flavor |
| Hazard labelReported ECHA, EU CLP Regulation, Safe Work Australia via PubChem | Danger | Not recorded |
| The supplier-filed hazard label's signal word, not a statement about ordinary use. | ||
| Oral LD50Measured HSDB via PubChem | 2,660 mg/kgpure borax, rat, oral | 4,220 mg/kgpure sodium bicarbonate, rat, oral |
| A single acute animal measure. It ranks nothing about human safety. | ||
Sources and notes
- Molecular weightcomputedPubChemComputed from the structure; the formula is under each weight.
- Hydrogen-bond donorscomputedPubChemThe hydrogens on nitrogen or oxygen that each molecule can lend to a hydrogen bond, counted from its structure.
- Where each turns upfrom sourceMoleculeFinder food and product listsEach amount is an editorial figure from our lists, not a measurement of any one product. Each mark is set by hand on the list, never inferred.
- Familyfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Everyday groupfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Hazard labelfrom sourceECHA, EU CLP Regulation, Safe Work Australia via PubChem
- Oral LD50from sourceHSDB via PubChem
- ECHAfrom sourceAttributionSource: European Chemicals Agency, echa.europa.eu.
- EU CLP Regulationfrom sourceAttributionSource: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, © European Union.
- Safe Work Australiafrom sourceAttributionSource: Safe Work Australia, Hazardous Chemical Information System, © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0.
- Identifiersfrom sourcePubChemPubChem CID 10219853 (Borax) and 516892 (Sodium bicarbonate).
In more detail
Both are white powders sold in the laundry aisle and they are not interchangeable. Sodium bicarbonate is a simple sodium salt of carbonic acid, mildly alkaline, edible, and used as much in baking as in cleaning. Borax is sodium tetraborate, a boron compound, more strongly alkaline, and not edible: boron compounds carry reproductive-toxicity classifications in the EU and borax is restricted in consumer products there. Borax is the better water softener and stain remover of the two because of that higher alkalinity, and bicarbonate is the better deodoriser because it neutralises acids directly. Their weights are far apart, 201.2 for the anhydrous borax on record against 84.01.
Sources and notes
- The paragraphfrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notes
Questions
- What is the difference between Borax and Sodium bicarbonate?
- Sodium bicarbonate is an edible, mildly alkaline sodium salt, while borax is a more strongly alkaline boron compound that is not edible.
- Is Borax bigger than Sodium bicarbonate?
- Borax is the heavier molecule, 201.2 g/mol against 84.01 g/mol for Sodium bicarbonate. Borax is B4Na2O7 and Sodium bicarbonate is CHNaO3.
- Which has the lower reported LD50, Borax or Sodium bicarbonate?
- Borax, at 2,660 mg/kg (oral, rat), against 4,220 mg/kg (oral, rat) for Sodium bicarbonate. An LD50 is one acute animal measurement, and the two here were not necessarily measured in the same species, so it is a data point rather than a ranking of how dangerous either is to a person.
Sources and notes
- The answersfrom sourceMoleculeFinderThe first is the pair's answer line; the others are read off the table above.