Sodium silicate is produced by melting sand with sodium carbonate.

It has many applications in industry, agriculture, detergents.

It is used for the production of Silicagel, the desiccant in sachets that is found in many electronic products and to preserve them from humidity.

Sodium silicate is used in agriculture to improve disease resistance and maintain fruit quality (1).

In vitro tests have shown that sodium silicate prevents the mycelial growth of some fungi, such as Trichothecium roseum, Alternaria alternata, Fusarium semitectum (2).

To avoid agglomeration and sedimentation of the grains, the ceramic sludge should be modified by stabilizers in order to increase the electrostatic interactions between the dispersed particles. The mechanism depends on the silicate structures present in the sodium silicate solution (3).

Molecular Formula : Na₂O₃Si   Na₂SiO₃

Molecular Weight : 122.062 g/mol

CAS : 1344-09-8    6834-92-0

Synonyms :

• Sodium metasilicate
• Sodium siliconate
• Sodium polysilicate
• Sodium sesquisilicate
• UNII-052612U92L
• EINECS 215-687-4
• EINECS 229-912-9

References__________________________

(1) Application of sodium silicate retards apple softening by suppressing the activity of enzymes related to cell wall degradation.

Ge Y, Duan B, Li C, Wei M, Chen Y, Li X, Tang Q.

J Sci Food Agric. 2019 Mar 15;99(4):1828-1833. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.9376.

(2) Sodium silicate reduces postharvest decay on Hami melons: induced resistance and fungistatic effects.

Bi Y., Tian S. P., Guo Y. R., Ge Y. H., Qin G. Z. (2006).  90 279–283. 10.1094/PD-90-0279

(3) Influence of the type of aqueous sodium silicate on the stabilization and rheology of kaolin clay suspensions.

Izak P, Ogłaza L, Mozgawa W, Mastalska-Popławska J, Stempkowska A.

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2018 May 5;196:155-159. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2018.02.022.