For Students
Minerals of the borate class contain boron-oxygen groups that can link together, in a phenomenon known as polymerization, to form chains, sheets, and isolated multiple groups. The silicon-oxygen (SiO4) tetrahedrons of the silicates polymerize in a manner similar to the (BO3)3– triangular groups of the borates. (For further information on such structures, see below Silicates). A single oxygen atom is shared between two boron cations (B3+), thereby linking the BO3 groups into extended units such as double triangles, triple rings, sheets, and chains. The oxygen atom is able to accommodate two boron atoms because the small boron cation has a ...(100 of 14209 words)