Topic summary
Metaborate
A metaborate is a borateanion consisting of boron and oxygen, with empirical formulaBO−2. Metaborate also refers to any salt or ester of such anion (e.g. salts such as sodium metaborateNaBO2 or Ca(BO2)2, and esters such as methyl metaborate CH3BO2). Metaborate is one of the boron's oxyanions. Metaborates can be monomeric, oligomeric or polymeric.
In aqueous solutions metaborate anion hydrolyzes to tetrahydroxyborate[B(OH)4]. For this reason, solutions or hydrated salts of the latter are often improperly named "metaborates".