sulfonate

thumb|right|144px|The sulfonate ion.

In organosulfur chemistry, a sulfonate is a salt or anion of a sulfonic acid. The formula for this functional group is . Sulfonates are the conjugate bases of sulfonic acids. Sulfonates are generally stable in water, non-oxidizing, and colorless. Many useful compounds and even some biochemicals are sulfonates. Most detergents and surfactants are sulfonates. These include alkylbenzene sulfonates, 𝛼-olefin sulfonates, and paraffin sulfonates.