What is Sodium Formate?

What is Sodium Formate?

ReAgent Chemicals has recently registered under UK REACH to manufacture sodium formate, so you can now buy high quality sodium formate in the quantities you need by contacting us directly. As expert UK sodium formate suppliers, this article explains what sodium formate is, what it’s used for and how we manufacture sodium formate.

What is Sodium Formate?
Sodium formate is classified as the sodium salt of formic acid because of its chemical formula. However, it’s not mass-produced from formic acid; it’s actually the other way around. Nonetheless, it can be produced in several ways, such as the neutralisation of formic acid with sodium hydroxide.

What is Sodium Formate Used For?
Sodium formate is produced on a large scale because it has several industrial and commercial applications. The salt is used in the production of other chemicals, such as sodium hydrosulphate and formic acid. Sodium formate is also commercially important in tanning leather, large-scale printing, preserving food, and manufacturing detergents.

What is the Structure of Sodium Formate?
Sodium formate has the chemical formula HCOONa. It is a salt, which means it’s crystalline in terms of its molecular lattice configuration. As a solid, it exists as a colourless powder at room temperature.
In terms of its individual molecular structure, it has ionic bonds between a sodium and formate group. The sodium side is positively charged while the formate side is negatively charged. It also has a monoclinic-holohedral symmetry. Monoclinic means that it has three unequal axes. Two of these axes are inclined to one another while the third one is perpendicular. Holohedral means all the planes are necessary for the symmetry of the crystal system.