Sodium germanate is an

inorganic compound In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemi ...

with the formula Na₂GeO₃. It is a colorless solid. Sodium germanate is primarily used for the synthesis of other germanium compounds.

Preparation and reactions

Sodium germanate can be prepared by the fusion of germanium oxide with

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 caustic base and alkal ...

at high temperatures: :2NaOH + GeO₂ → Na₂GeO₃ + H₂O An intermediate in this reaction is the protonated derivative NaHGeO₃, which is a water-soluble salt.

Structure

it is structurally analogous to

sodium metasilicate Sodium metasilicate is the chemical substance with formula , which is the main component of commercial sodium silicate solutions. It is an ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and the polymeric metasilicate anions ��–sub>''n''. It is ...

, Na₂SiO₃, consisting of polymeric GeO₃²⁻ anions made up of vertex sharing tetrahedra.C. C. Addison, Inorganic Chemistry of the Main-Group Elements, vol 1, 1973, The chemical Society,

References

Germanates Sodium compounds {{inorganic-compound-stub

Preparation and reactions

Structure

See also

References