sulfatelike

Sulfatelike is an informal descriptor used in chemistry to refer to chemical species, ions, or structural motifs that resemble the sulfate group (SO4^2−). It is not a formal IUPAC term, but it appears in discussions of inorganic structures, solid-state chemistry, and mineralogy to indicate a tetrahedral oxoanion motif centered on a highly charged, six-coordinate environment around a central atom similar to sulfur in sulfate.

Structural and chemical features commonly associated with sulfatelike motifs include a tetrahedral coordination geometry around a central atom, four surrounding oxygen ligands, and a overall negative charge that is delocalized over the oxygen atoms. In practice, central atoms other than sulfur, such as selenium or tellurium, can form isostructural oxoanions (e.g., selenate, SeO4^2−; tellurate, TeO4^2−) that are often described as sulfatelike because they share the same geometry and bonding arrangement.

Contexts in which sulfatelike description is used include mineral structures, where sulfate groups link to metal-oxygen polyhedra to form three-dimensional frameworks, and in crystallography or spectroscopy, where the local environment around a tetrahedral oxoanion resembles that of sulfate. The term helps contrast these groups with sulfates that have different central atoms, or with other oxoanions that differ in geometry or bonding.

Limitations and usage notes: sulfatelike is not a precise chemical designation; it should be used provisionally and clarified with specific identity (for example, stating whether the motif is sulfate, selenate, or tellurate, and describing the coordination, charge, and bonding in the particular context). It emphasizes structural similarity rather than identical chemical identity.