If sodium citrate is a strong base with a weak acid, what makes sodium a strong base?

Answer 1

Citrate is a base. The sodium ion in sodium citrate is irrelevant. Now, a sodium ATOM (still having all its electrons) is very ready to donate electrons. This is the definition of a lewis base -- an electron donor.

In detail, a sodium atom has one electron in its highest energy level. Getting rid of this electron makes a sodium ion, which is much more stable and is thus the preferred state of sodium.

Answer 2

Hey Lisa (in response to your other question)

I'm sorry I did not mean to sound so heated. I just don't want you taking the information from companies at face value, since anyone can claim anything they like. Besides, since any soluble salt splits into constituent ions in solution it is technically true that it is a "solution of potassium ions" but what is also not mentioned is the other half of the equation - the other balancing ions also present.

As for this question, they explained it above pretty well. Citrate acts as a weak base while sodium is a spectator ion. In NaOH, hydroxyl ions act as the strong base.

Answer 3

Sodium citrate is not a strong base, it is weak. Sodim citrate is Na3C6H5O7, so there are no acidic properties for this molecule. The original molecule is citric acid, H3C6H5O7, which is a weak acid with three dissociable H+ ions.

Sodium is very happy to be an ion (Na+) since this gives it an electron configuration like Ne (noble gas). Na+ would not like to act like a base (ie. accept H+).