Silicates
Building block of the silicate minerals
Sharing of oxygen atom
Corner sharing Edge sharing
Fece sharing
Classification of silicate
Orthosilicate (nesosilicates)
Pyrosilicate (Sorosilicates)
Cyclic silicate (Cyclosilicates)
Chain silicate (Inosilicates)
Sheet silicate (Phyllosilicates)
3D silicate (Tectosilicates)
Orthosilicate: If the corner oxygens are not shared with other SiO44- tetrahedrons,
each tetrahedron will be isolated. Thus, this group is often referred to as the island
silicate group. The basic structural unit is then SiO44-. In this group the oxygens are
shared with octahedral groups that contain other cations like Mg+2, Zr+2, or Ca+2.
Simple silicate containing discrete SiO44- tetrahedral.
Examples: Silicates of magnesium (Mg2SiO4) and zirconium (ZrSiO4)
Pyrosilicate: one of the corner oxygens is shared with another tetrahedron. It is often
referred to as the double island group because there are two linked tetrahedrons isolated from
all other tetrahedrons. Two SiO4 tetrahedrons share one corner oxygen atom to form discrete
Si2O76− ions. Two compounds with this type of linkage are Ca2ZnSi2O7 and
Zn4(OH)2Si2O7·H2O (Hemimorphite (calamine)) .
Cyclic silicate (ring silicate): If two of the oxygens are shared and the structure is
arranged in a ring, such as that shown here, we get the basic structural unit of the cyclosilcates
or ring silicates. Shown here is a six membered ring forming the structural group Si6O18-12.
Three membered rings, Si3O9-6, four membered rings,Si4O12-8, and five membered rings
Si5O15-10 are also possible. In BaTiSi3O9, three SiO4 tetrahedrons share corners, whereas in
Be3Al2Si6O18(beryl), six tetrahedrons share corners to form a closed ring.
Single Chain Silicates: If two of the oxygens are shared in a way to make long single
chains of linked SiO4 tetrahedra, we get the single chain silicates or inosilicates. In this case the
basic structural unit is Si2O6-4 or SiO3-2. This group is the basis for the pyroxene group of
minerals, like the orthopyroxenes (Mg,Fe)SiO3, CaMg(SiO3) 2.
Double Chain Silicates: If two chains are linked together so that each tetrahedral group shares 3 of
its oxygens, we can from double chains, with the basic structural group being Si4O11-6.When SiO4
tetrahedrons in single chains share oxygen atoms, double silicon-oxygen chains form. Metal cations link
the parallel chains together. Many of these silicates are fibrous in nature, because the ionic bonds between
the metal cations and the silicate anions are not as strong as the siliconoxygen bonds within the chains. A
class of fibrous silicate minerals that belong to this group is collectively called asbestos. The amphibole
group of minerals are double chain silicates, for example the tremolite – ferroactinolite series –
Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2.
(v) Sheet silicate: If 3 of the oxygens from each tetrahedral group are shared such that an
infinite sheet of SiO4 tetrahedra are shared we get the basis for the phyllosilicates or sheet silicates. In
this case the basic structural group is Si2O5-2. The micas, clay minerals, chlorite, talc, and serpentine
minerals are all based on this structure. A good example is biotite - K(Mg,Fe) 3(AlSi3)O10(OH) 2. Talc,
Mg3(Si4O10)(OH) 2,
3D silicate: If all of the corner oxygens are shared with another SiO4 tetrahedron, then a
framework structure develops. The basic structural group then becomes SiO2. The minerals quartz,
cristobalite, and tridymite all are based on this structure. If some of the Si+4 ions are replaced by
Al+3 then this produces a charge imbalance and allows for other ions to be found coordinated
indifferent arrangements within the framework structure. Thus, the feldspar and feldspathoid
minerals are also based on the tectosilicate framework.
