sulfate

sulfate

sulfate, chemical compound containing the sulfate (SO₄) radical. Sulfates are salts or esters of sulfuric acid, H₂SO₄, formed by replacing one or both of the hydrogens with a metal (e.g., sodium) or a radical (e.g., ammonium or ethyl). Sulfates in which both hydrogens are replaced are called normal sulfates; sulfates in which only one hydrogen is replaced are called hydrogen sulfates, acid sulfates, or bisulfates. Most metal sulfates are readily soluble in water, but calcium and mercuric sulfates are only slightly soluble, while barium, lead, strontium, and mercurous sulfates are insoluble. In chemical analysis, the sulfate ion, SO₄⁻², is usually detected by adding barium chloride solution; the white barium sulfate precipitate that forms is insoluble in hydrochloric acid. Sulfates are widely distributed in nature. Barium sulfate occurs as barite; calcium sulfate is found as gypsum, alabaster, and selenite; Epsom salts is magnesium sulfate; sodium sulfate occurs as its decahydrate, Glauber's salt; and strontium sulfate occurs as celestite. Some sulfates were formerly known as vitriols; blue vitriol is cupric sulfate, green vitriol is ferrous sulfate, and white vitriol is zinc sulfate. Alums are double sulfates, containing two different metals and two sulfate radicals. Organic sulfates are esters. They can be formed by reacting an alcohol with cold sulfuric acid. They are also formed by the reaction of sulfuric acid with a double bond in an alkene; the product is called an alkyl hydrogen sulfate. An alkyl hydrogen sulfate can be broken down to an alcohol and sulfuric acid by heating it with water (hydrolysis); this reaction is often used to synthesize alcohols. Sulfates play a significant role both in the chemical industry and in biological systems. Sulfuric acid is used in lead storage batteries and in the manufacture of nitric acid; copper sulfate is a common algicide. Organisms found near deep-sea thermal vents use sulfates for energy in place of sunlight.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Sulfate

 

any one of various salts of sulfuric acid, H₂SO₄. There are two series of sulfates: the normal sulfates, M₂SO₄, and the acid sulfates, MHSO₄, where M is a monovalent metal.

Sulfates are crystalline compounds, which are colorless if the cation is colorless, and in most cases are readily soluble in water. Sparingly soluble sulfates are encountered as the minerals gypsum, CaSO₄·2H₂O; celestite, SrSO₄; and anglesite, PbSO₄. The mineral barite, BaSO₄, and RaSO₄ are virtually insoluble in water. Acid sulfates have been isolated in the solid state only for the most reactive metals, such as sodium and potassium. These salts are readily soluble in water, and they fuse easily. Normal sulfates may be obtained by dissolving metals in sulfuric acid and by the action of sulfuric acid on oxides, hydroxides, and carbonates of metals. Acid sulfates are obtained by heating normal sulfates with concentrated H₂SO₄:

K₂SO₄ + H₂SO₄ = 2KHSO₄

The crystal hydrates of the sulfate salts of some heavy metals are called vitriols.

Sulfate minerals are widely used in many branches of industry.

I. K. MALINA

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

sulfate

[′səl‚fāt]

(chemistry)

A compound containing the ‒SO₄ group, as in sodium sulfate, Na₂SO₄.

A salt of sulfuric acid.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.