Zincate

In chemistry the term zincate may refer to several substances containing the element zinc:

usually the anion Zn₄²⁻, more properly called tetrahydroxozincate or salts thereof, such as sodium zincate.
the polymeric anion and its salts, for example NaZn₃· H₂O.
an oxide containing zinc and a less electronegative element e.g. Na₂ZnO₂.

In the health supplement industry zincate may also mean a commercially available zinc supplement, typically formulated as zinc sulfate.
Solutions prepared from dissolving zinc hydroxide or zinc oxide in a strong alkali like sodium hydroxide, which contains various zincate anions, are used in the metal plating industry, in processes such as immersion zinc plating and electroplating . Any of these techniques may be called zincate process.

Inorganic compound nomenclature

In the naming of inorganic compounds, "-zincate" is a suffix that indicates that a polyatomic anion contains a central zinc atom. Examples include tetrachlorozincate, ZnCl₄²⁻, the tetrahydroxozincate, Zn₄²⁻ and tetranitratozincate, Zn₄²⁻. More recent recommendations, that are not widely used, would call the first two ions tetrachloridozincate and tetrahydroxidozincate respectively.