carbonate (kär`bənāt', –nət), chemical compound containing the carbonate radical radical, in chemistry, group of atoms that are joined together in some particular spatial structure and that take part in most chemical reactions as a single unit.
..... Click the link for more information. or ion ion, atom or group of atoms having a net electric charge .

Positive and Negative Electric Charges

A neutral atom or group of atoms becomes an ion by gaining or losing one or more electrons or protons.
..... Click the link for more information. , CO₃⁻². Most familiar carbonates are salts salt, chemical compound (other than water) formed by a chemical reaction between an acid and a base (see acids and bases ).

Characteristics and Classification of Salts

..... Click the link for more information. that are formed by reacting an inorganic base (e.g., a metal hydroxide hydroxide (hīdrŏk`sīd), chemical compound that contains the hydroxyl (−OH) radical .
..... Click the link for more information. ) with carbonic acid carbonic acid, H₂CO₃, a weak dibasic acid (see acids and bases ) formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water; it exists only in solution.
..... Click the link for more information. . Normal carbonates are formed when equivalent amounts of acid and base react; bicarbonates, also called acid carbonates or hydrogen carbonates, are formed when the acid is present in excess. Sodium carbonate sodium carbonate, chemical compound, Na₂CO₃, soluble in water and very slightly soluble in alcohol. Pure sodium carbonate is a white, odorless powder that absorbs moisture from the air, has an alkaline taste, and forms a strongly alkaline water
..... Click the link for more information. , Na₂CO₃, sodium bicarbonate sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate, chemical compound, NaHCO₃, a white crystalline or granular powder, commonly known as bicarbonate of soda or baking soda. It is soluble in water and very slightly soluble in alcohol.
..... Click the link for more information. , NaHCO₃, and potassium carbonate potassium carbonate, chemical compound, K₂CO₃, white, crystalline, deliquescent substance that forms a strongly alkaline water solution. It is available commercially as a white, granular powder commonly called potash, or pearl ash.
..... Click the link for more information. , K₂CO₃, are widely used. Smelling salts is ammonium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is found in shells of animals and in Iceland spar Iceland spar, colorless variety of crystallized calcite , characterized by its properties of transparency and double refraction. It is used chiefly in the manufacture of Nicol prisms , which are essential parts of polarizing microscopes and other optical instruments.
..... Click the link for more information. , limestone limestone, sedimentary rock wholly or in large part composed of calcium carbonate. It is ordinarily white but may be colored by impurities, iron oxide making it brown, yellow, or red and carbon making it blue, black, or gray. The texture varies from coarse to fine.
..... Click the link for more information. , and marble marble, metamorphic rock composed wholly or in large part of calcite or dolomite crystals, the crystalline texture being the result of metamorphism of limestone by heat and pressure.
..... Click the link for more information. ; it is used in the production of lime (calcium oxide calcium oxide, chemical compound, CaO, a colorless, cubic crystalline or white amorphous substance. It is also called lime, quicklime, or caustic lime, but commercial lime often contains impurities, e.g., silica, iron, alumina, and magnesia.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Barium carbonate occurs as the mineral witherite. Magnesium carbonate occurs as magnesite magnesite (măg`nəsīt), mineral, magnesium carbonate, MgCO₃, white, yellow, or gray in color.
..... Click the link for more information. and in dolomite 1 Mineral, calcium magnesium carbonate, CaMg (CO₃)₂. It is commonly crystalline and is white, gray, brown, or reddish in color with a vitreous to pearly luster. The magnesium is sometimes replaced in part by iron or manganese.
..... Click the link for more information. (with calcium carbonate). Iron carbonate is a ferrous compound that occurs in nature as siderite siderite (sĭd`ərīt) or chalybite
..... Click the link for more information. . White lead white lead, heavy, white substance, poisonous, insoluble in water, extensively used as a white pigment and base in paints. It is one of the oldest paint pigments used by humans. Chemically, it is basic lead carbonate, a mixture of lead carbonate and lead hydroxide.
..... Click the link for more information. used as a pigment in paints is basic lead carbonate. Only ammonium, potassium, and sodium carbonates are readily soluble in water. Alkali metal carbonates are stable when heated, but other carbonates decompose, releasing carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO₂, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure.
..... Click the link for more information. . Carbonates also give off carbon dioxide when treated with dilute acids, e.g., hydrochloric acid.

carbonate

Any member of two classes of chemical compounds—one inorganic and the other organic—that are derived from carbon dioxide (CO₂) or its water solution, carbonic acid (H₂CO₃). Inorganic carbonates (MCO₃ or M₂CO₃, where M is a metal atom of, e.g., calcium or sodium) are salts of carbonic acid. The shells and other hard parts of shellfish are calcium carbonate, as is the limestone they turn into. Many other minerals, including calcite, dolomite, and aragonite, consist of or contain carbonates. Sodium carbonate is one of the world's most important basic chemical commodities. Organic carbonates are esters of carbonic acid and various alcohol groups (methyl, ethyl, or phenyl). These are liquids used as solvents and to synthesize plastics and other compounds.

carbonate

a salt or ester of carbonic acid. Carbonate salts contain the divalent ion CO₃^2-- FORMULA

carbonate [′kär·bə·nət]

(chemistry)

An ester or salt of carbonic acid.

A compound containing the carbonate (CO₃^2-) ion.

Containing carbonates.

carbonate (redirected from carbonates)

Positive and Negative Electric Charges

Characteristics and Classification of Salts

carbonate

carbonate
(redirected from carbonates)