Beryllium silicate can be prepared by calcining the
oxide with silica, SiO2, at an elevated temperature:
BeO + SiO2 +hea?BeSiO3
The so-called “metasilicate” results. This compound
appears in nature as beryl, (BeSiO3)3·Al2(SiO3)3
= Be3Al2(SiO3)6, which is a double salt. This is a chain silicate
related to a ring-silicate structure. When two
oxygen of SiO44+
units share bonds with other SiO44+
units, the silicates form a ring or an infinite chain. The
stoichiometry of the silicate becomes (SiO3)n2n-.
