In chemistry, orthosilicate is the

anion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

, or any of its

salts In chemistry, a salt is a chemical compound consisting of an ionic assembly of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, which results in a compound with no net electric charge. A common example is table salt, with positively c ...

and

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides a ...

s. It is one of the silicate anions. It is occasionally called the silicon tetroxide anion or

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

.C. A. Kumins, and A. E. Gessler (1953), "Short-Cycle Syntheses of Ultramarine Blue". ''Indunstrial & Engineering Chemistry'', volume 45, issue 3, pages 567–572. Orthosilicate salts, like

sodium orthosilicate Sodium orthosilicate is the chemical compound with the molecular formula . It is one of the sodium silicates, specifically an orthosilicate, formally a salt of the unstable orthosilicic acid .M,. G. Barker, P. G.Gadd (1981): "The preparation and ...

, are stable, and occur widely in nature as

silicate minerals Silicate minerals are rock-forming minerals made up of silicate groups. They are the largest and most important class of minerals and make up approximately 90 percent of Earth's crust. In mineralogy, silica (silicon dioxide, ) is usually con ...

, being the defining feature of the

nesosilicate Silicate minerals are rock-forming minerals made up of silicate groups. They are the largest and most important class of minerals and make up approximately 90 percent of Earth's crust. In mineralogy, silica (silicon dioxide, ) is usually consid ...

Olivine The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers quickl ...

, a magnesium or iron(II) orthosilicate, is the most abundant mineral in the

upper mantle The upper mantle of Earth is a very thick layer of rock inside the planet, which begins just beneath the crust (at about under the oceans and about under the continents) and ends at the top of the lower mantle at . Temperatures range from appr ...

. The orthosilicate anion is a strong base, the

conjugate base A conjugate acid, within the Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, is a chemical compound formed when an acid donates a proton () to a base—in other words, it is a base with a hydrogen ion added to it, as in the reverse reaction it loses a ...

of the extremely weak orthosilicic acid (p''K''_a2 = 13.2 at 25 °C). This equilibrium is difficult to study since the acid tends to decompose into a hydrated silica condensate.

Structure

The orthosilicate ion or group has

tetrahedral In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all the ...

shape, with one silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms. In the anion, each oxygen carries a unit negative charge. The Si–O bond is 162 pm long. In organic compounds like

tetramethyl orthosilicate Tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) is the chemical compound with the formula Si(OCH3)4. This molecule consists of four methoxy groups bonded to a silicon atom. The basic properties are similar to the more popular tetraethyl orthosilicate, which i ...

, each oxygen is formally neutral and is connected to the rest of the molecule by a single covalent bond.

Uses

Europium doped barium orthosilicate (Ba₂SiO₄) is a common phosphor used in green

light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (co ...

s (LEDs). Phosphor for blue LEDs can be made with strontium doped barium orthosilicate. Barium orthosilicate is a major cause of

cathode poisoning In vacuum tubes and gas-filled tubes, a hot cathode or thermionic cathode is a cathode electrode which is heated to make it emit electrons due to thermionic emission. This is in contrast to a cold cathode, which does not have a heating element. ...

vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. The type known as ...

Organic chemistry

Although very important in inorganic chemistry and geochemistry, the orthosilicate ion is rarely seen in organic chemistry. Two silicate compounds, however, are used in organic synthesis:

tetraethyl orthosilicate Tetraethyl orthosilicate, formally named tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), ethyl silicate is the organic chemical compound with the formula Si(OC2H5)4. TEOS is a colorless liquid. It degrades in water. TEOS is the of orthosilicic acid, Si(OH)4. It i ...

or ''TEOS'' is used to link polymers, and is especially important in the manufacture of aerogels.

Tetramethyl orthosilicate Tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) is the chemical compound with the formula Si(OCH3)4. This molecule consists of four methoxy groups bonded to a silicon atom. The basic properties are similar to the more popular tetraethyl orthosilicate, which i ...

or ''TMOS'' is used as an alternative to TEOS, and also has a number of other uses as a reagent. TEOS is preferred over TMOS as TMOS decomposes to produce high concentrations of toxic methanol. Inhaling TMOS can result in toxic build-up of silica in the lungs.

References

{{reflist Silicates