cyclosilicate

/suy'kleuh sil"i kit, -kayt'/, n. Mineral.

any silicate in which the SiO₄ tetrahedra are linked to form rings. Cf. inosilicate, nesosilicate, sorosilicate, tektosilicate.

[CYCLO- + SILICATE]

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▪ mineral

      compound with a structure in which silicate tetrahedrons (a central silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms at the corners of a tetrahedron) are arranged in rings. Each tetrahedron shares two of its oxygen atoms with other tetrahedrons; the rings formed may have three (e.g., benitoite), four (e.g., axinite), or six members (e.g., beryl). The cyclosilicates have chemical formulas that contain multiples of SiO₃.

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