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( Sodium oxide) 1132 °C

Decomposes at 1950 °C

The alkali metal oxides M₂O (M = Li, Na, K, Rb) crystallise in the antifluorite structure. In this motif the positions of the anions and cations are reversed relative to their positions in CaF₂, with sodium ions tetrahedrally coordinated to 4 oxide ions and oxide cubically coordinated to 8 sodium ions.^[1]

In the typical application, glass contains around 15% sodium oxide, the other components being silicon dioxide and calcium oxide at around 70% and 9%, respectively. The soda serves as a flux to lower the temperature at which the silica melts. Soda glass has a lower melting temperature vs pure silica, and has improved mechanical properties due to its slight increases in elasticity. These changes arise because the silicon dioxide and soda react to form sodium silicates of the general formula Na₂[SiO₂]_x[SiO₃].

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