What is a silicate easy definition?

Definition of silicate : a salt or ester derived from a silicic acid especially : any of numerous insoluble often complex metal salts that contain silicon and oxygen in the anion, constitute the largest class of minerals, and are used in building materials (such as cement, bricks, and glass)

What is the formula for silicate ion?

Silicate (SiO32-)

PubChem CID 115035
Structure Find Similar Structures
Molecular Formula O3Si-2
Synonyms Silicate (SiO32-) 15593-90-5 Metasilicic acid dianion DTXSID50165996
Molecular Weight 76.083

What is the definition of silicate in chemistry?

Silicates are salts containing anions of silicon (Si) and oxygen. There are many types of silicates, because the silicon-to-oxygen ratio can vary widely. In all silicates, however, silicon atoms are found at the centres of tetrahedrons with oxygen atoms at the corners.

What is SiO4 called?

silicate mineral structures is the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron (SiO4)4-. It consists of a central silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms in the shape of a tetrahedron.

What is silicate structure?

The basic structural unit of all silicate minerals is the silicon tetrahedron in which one silicon atom is surrounded by and bonded to (i.e., coordinated with) four oxygen atoms, each at the corner of a regular tetrahedron.

What are examples of silicates?

The vast majority of the minerals that make up the rocks of Earth’s crust are silicate minerals. These include minerals such as quartz, feldspar, mica, amphibole, pyroxene, olivine, and a great variety of clay minerals.

What is silicate charge?

Since the silicon ion has a charge of +4 and each of the four oxygen ions has a charge of –2, the silica tetrahedron has a net charge of –4. In silicate minerals, these tetrahedra are arranged and linked together in a variety of ways, from single units to complex frameworks (Figure 2.9).

What is silicate and its uses?

Silicates are also used to make glass and ceramics. To do so, hard, formless material like sand or ceramic clay is heated to high temperatures, turning it into malleable material that can be formed to make drinking glasses, for example, or when lead is added to the molten liquid–crystal glass.

What does SiO4 mean?

The basic compositional unit of all silicate minerals is the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron (often. abbreviated Si-O tetrahedron). It consists of one silicon cation (Si-4) surrounded by 4 oxygen. anions (O-2) in a 4-sided pyramid arrangement known as a tetrahedron.

How are silicates formed?

Most silicates are formed as molten rock cools and crystallizes. The conditions and the environment during which the cooling occurs will determine the type of silicate formed. Some silicates, for example, quartz, are formed near the surface of the earth, where there is low temperature and low pressure.