Disodium pyrophosphate is prepared by thermal condensation of sodium dihydrogen phosphate or by partial deprotonation of pyrophosphoric acid.
Pyrophosphates are generally white or colorless. The alkali metal salts are water-soluble. They are good complexing agents for metal ions (such as calcium and many transition metals) and have many uses in industrial chemistry. Pyrophosphate is the first member of an entire series of polyphosphates.