n.
Any of numerous inorganic and organic chemical compounds related to sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ).
One subgroup comprises salt s containing the sulfate ion (SO 4 2- ) linked via ionic bond s with any of various cation s. Another subgroup of sulfates, the ester s, are organic compounds in which sulfuric acid's hydrogen atoms are replaced by organic groups (e.g., methyl, ethyl, phenyl); a carbon atom in the organic group bonds to an oxygen atom, whose second bond is to the sulfur atom. (In sulfonates, a carbon atom bonds directly to the sulfur atom.) See also bonding .