Alkali salt
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Alkali salts or basic salts are salts that are the product of incomplete neutralization of a strong base and a
weak acid Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbolised by the chemical formula HA, to dissociate into a proton, H+, and an anion, A-. The dissociation of a strong acid in solution is effectively complete, except in its most concentrated solutions ...
. Rather than being neutral (as some other
salts In chemistry, a salt is a chemical compound consisting of an ionic assembly of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, which results in a compound with no net electric charge. A common example is table salt, with positively c ...
), alkali salts are bases as their name suggests. What makes these compounds basic is that the conjugate base from the weak acid hydrolyzes to form a basic solution. In sodium carbonate, for example, the
carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate ...
from the carbonic acid
hydrolyze Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water is the nucleophile. Biological hydrolysis ...
s to form a basic solution. The chloride from the
hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbol ...
in sodium chloride does not hydrolyze, though, so sodium chloride is not basic. The difference between a basic salt and an alkali is that an alkali is the soluble hydroxide compound of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. A basic salt is any salt that hydrolyzes to form a basic solution. Another definition of a basic salt would be a salt that contains amounts of both hydroxide and other anions.
White lead White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2. It is a complex salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite, a hydrate of cerussite. It was ...
is an example. It is basic lead carbonate, or lead carbonate hydroxide. These materials are known for their high levels of dissolution in polar solvents. These salts are insoluble and are obtained through precipitation reactions.


Examples

* Sodium carbonate *
Sodium acetate Sodium acetate, CH3COONa, also abbreviated Na O Ac, is the sodium salt of acetic acid. This colorless deliquescent salt has a wide range of uses. Applications Biotechnological Sodium acetate is used as the carbon source for culturing bacteria ...
* Potassium cyanide * Sodium sulfide * Sodium bicarbonate *
Sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaOH. It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly corrosive base and alkal ...


Alkaline salts

'Alkaline salts' are often the major component of alkaline
dishwasher detergent Dishwasher detergent is a detergent made for washing dishes in a dishwasher. Dishwasher detergent is different from dishwashing liquid made to wash dishes by hand. Uses When using a dishwasher, the user must select a special detergent for its u ...
powders. These salts may include: * alkali metasilicates * alkali metal hydroxides * Sodium carbonate * Sodium Bicarbonate Examples of other strongly alkaline salts, include: *
Sodium percarbonate Sodium percarbonate is a chemical substance with formula . It is an adduct of sodium carbonate ("soda ash" or "washing soda") and hydrogen peroxide (that is, a perhydrate) whose formula is more properly written as 2  · 3 . ...
*
Sodium persilicate Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable isot ...
(?) *
Potassium metabisulfite Potassium metabisulfite, K2S2O5, also known as potassium pyrosulfite, is a white crystalline powder with a pungent odour. It is mainly used as an antioxidant or chemical sterilant. As a disulfite, it is chemically very similar to sodium metabi ...


See also

* Alkali *
Acid salt Acid salts are a class of salts that produce an acidic solution after being dissolved in a solvent. Its formation as a substance has a greater electrical conductivity than that of the pure solvent. An acidic solution formed by acid salt is made dur ...


References

{{Chemistry-stub Salts