Barium chlorate in some sodium contamination, which is undesirable for pyrotechnic purposes, where the strong yellow of sodium can easily overpower the green of barium. Sodium-free barium chlorate can be produced directly through electrolysis: It can also be produced by the reaction of barium carbonate with boiling ammonium chlorate solution: The reaction initially produces barium chlorate and ammonium carbonate; boiling the solution decomposes the ammonium carbonate and drives off the resulting ammonia and carbon dioxide, leaving only barium chlorate in solution. When exposed to heat, barium chlorate alone will decompose to barium chloride and oxygen: Barium chlorate is used to produce chloric
Chlorate oxidation. Chlorine, oxidation number 0, forms chloride Cl (oxidation number −1) and chlorate(V) (oxidation number +5). The reaction of cold aqueous metal hydroxides with chlorine produces the chloride and hypochlorite (oxidation number +1) instead. The industrial scale synthesis for sodium chlorate starts from aqueous sodium chloride solution (brine) rather than chlorine gas. If the equipment for electrolysis allows for the mixing of the chlorine and the sodium hydroxide, then the disproportionation reaction described above occurs. The heating of the reactants to 50–70 °C is performed by the electrical power used for electrolysis. A recent study has discovered the presence of