Is baking soda an ionic compound?

1 Answer
Meave60
Feb 20, 2015

Yes, baking soda is an ionic compound. Baking soda is composed of sodium ions, #"Na"^+"# and bicarbonate ions #"HCO"_3^(-)"# (also called hydrogen carbonate ions), in a 1:1 ratio. The formula unit for sodium bicarbonate ( also called baking soda or sodium hydrogen carbonate) is #"NaHCO"_3"#.

Commercial quantities of baking soda are produced by the following method: soda ash (#"Na"_2"CO"_3"#), also called sodium carbonate, mined in the form of an ore, is dissolved in water and treated with carbon dioxide. Sodium bicarbonate precipitates as a solid from this method:

#"Na"_2"CO"_3"# + #"CO"_2"# + #"H"_2"O"# #rarr# #"2NaHCO"_3"#
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate

The following is a structural diagram of the compound.
#"HCO"_3^(-)"#

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