Difference Between Sulfonate and Sulfate

Thekey differencebetween sulfonate and sulfate is thatsulfonate is ananionthat forms from sulfonic acid, whereas sulfate is an anion that forms fromsulfuric acid.

Although the terms sulfonate and sulfate sound similar, they are completely different anions. If we look at their chemical structure, sulfonate has an R group, which is an organic group, while sulfate has no R groups.

CONTENTS

1.Overview and Key Difference
2.What is Sulfonate
3.What is Sulfate
4.Side by Side Comparison – Sulfonate vs Sulfate in Tabular Form
6.概括

What is Sulfonate?

Sulfonate is an anion which has the chemical formula R-SO₃⁻. Here, the R group is an organic group. And, this anion originates from the sulfonic acid. Generally, these anions are stable in water and are colourless in aqueous solution. Moreover, these anions are non-oxidizing. The chemical structure is as follows:

Sulfonic acids are strong acids. Since the sulfonate is the共轭基础of sulfonic acid, the sulfonate is a weak base. The oxidation state of the sulfur atom in this anion is +5, and the overall charge is -1. Similar to the sulfate anion, this anion also has two S=O bonds but has R-S bond and S-O bond as the single bonds (sulfate anion has two SO single bonds).

What is Sulfate?

Sulfate is an anion having the chemical formula SO₄⁻². It originates from the sulfuric acid. And, this anion has four oxygen atoms attached to the central sulfur atom, and the anion has a tetrahedral geometry. The sulfur atom has a +6 oxidation state. There are two oxygen atoms with -1 charge.

We can produce this anion using two major methods:

1. Treating a metal or a metal oxide with sulfuric acid
2. 氧化金属硫化物进入亚硫酸盐

With few exceptions such as calcium sulfate and strontium sulfate, all other sulfate compounds are known to be water-soluble. Furthermore, this anion can serve as a ligand in coordination compounds by attaching with one oxygen atom (monodentate ligand) or two (bidentate ligand).

What is the Difference Between Sulfonate and Sulfate?

Sulfonate is an anion which has the chemical formula R-SO₃⁻硫酸是一种阴离子的化学形式ula SO₄⁻². The key difference between sulfonate and sulfate is that sulfonate is an anion that forms from the sulfonic acid, whereas sulfate is an anion that forms from the sulfuric acid.

Further, the oxidation state of the sulfur atom in sulfonate is +5, and in sulfate, it is +6. Apart from that, the overall charge of sulfonate anion is -1, and in sulfate anion, it is -2. So, this is also a difference between sulfonate and sulfate.

概括– Sulfonate vs Sulfate

Sulfonate is an anion which has the chemical formula R-SO₃⁻硫酸是一种阴离子的化学形式ula SO₄⁻². The key difference between sulfonate and sulfate is that sulfonate is an anion that forms from the sulfonic acid, whereas sulfate is an anion that forms from the sulfuric acid.

Reference:

1. Deziel, Chris. “What Is Sulfate?” Sciencing, 2 Mar. 2019,Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “SulfonateTet” By Smokefoot – Own work(CC BY-SA 4.0)viaCommons Wikimedia
2. “Sulfate-ion-2D-dimensions” By Benjah-bmm27 – Own work (Public Domain) viaCommons Wikimedia