La estructura de los silicatos

Since silicates can form different crystalline lattices, they are studied according to the way in which tetrahedra, a type of unit cell, are arranged and joined together. These silicon tetrahedra can be found within minerals in the form of isolated tetrahedra called nesosilicates; in the form of double islands or pairs of tetrahedra called sorosilicates; in ring-like structures called cyclosilicates; in the form of single and double chains known as inosilicates; in the form of sheets known as phyllosilicates; and in three-dimensional frameworks known as tectosilicates.