Sulfidate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To convert a metal or mineral into a sulfide compound by introducing sulfur or sulfur-containing substances; to cause the formation of sulfide deposits on a surface by chemical reaction; to treat with sulfur or sulfide ions to alter chemical composition and properties
2. To induce the chemical transformation of an element or compound into a sulfide form through sulfur addition; to promote the creation of sulfide films or layers in materials by sulfide interaction; to expose substances to sulfurous agents causing sulfide conversion
3. To chemically change a substance by adding sulfur to form sulfide compounds; to facilitate the deposition or incorporation of sulfide ions into materials altering their chemical state; to perform processes that result in the generation of sulfide compounds or coatings on elements or minerals

Etymology: "Sulfidate" is a chemistry verb meaning to convert a substance into a sulfide. It is built from "sulfide" plus the verb-forming suffix "-ate," the same ending found in words like "oxidate" and "hydrate." The base "sulfide" combines "sulfur" with the chemical suffix "-ide," which marks a compound of two elements, here sulfur with a more electronegative partner. The "-ate" suffix comes from Latin "-atus," the participle ending of first-conjugation verbs, and in chemistry it came to mark verbs that describe adding or forming something. So "sulfidate" simply means to make a sulfide out of something, typically by reacting it with sulfur or a sulfur-containing compound. Its history is that of ordinary chemical nomenclature: the word was formed by combining established parts rather than being coined as a single invention.

Synonyms: sulphidate