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The main structure of chemical names according to IUPAC nomenclature. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has published four sets of rules to standardize chemical nomenclature. There are two main areas: IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry (Red Book) IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry (Blue Book)
The main purpose of chemical nomenclature is to disambiguate the spoken or written names of chemical compounds: each name should refer to one compound. Secondarily, each compound should have only one name, although in some cases some alternative names are accepted. Preferably, the name should also represent the structure or chemistry of a compound.
The names "caffeine" and "3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione" both signify the same chemical compound.The systematic name encodes the structure and composition of the caffeine molecule in some detail, and provides an unambiguous reference to this compound, whereas the name "caffeine" simply names it.
For example, NaC 6 H 5 CO 2, the sodium salt of benzoic acid (C 6 H 5 COOH), is called sodium benzoate. Where an acid has both a systematic and a common name (like CH 3 COOH, for example, which is known as both acetic acid and as ethanoic acid), its salts can be named from either parent name.
Although most compounds are referred to by their IUPAC systematic names (following IUPAC nomenclature), traditional names have also been kept where they are in wide use or of significant historical interests.
Chemical nomenclature, replete as it is with compounds with very complex names, is a repository for some names that may be considered unusual. A browse through the Physical Constants of Organic Compounds in the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (a fundamental resource) will reveal not just the whimsical work of chemists, but the sometimes peculiar compound names that occur as the ...
Chemical substance – Form of matter; List of alchemical substances; List of chemical elements; List of minerals – List of minerals with Wikipedia articles; List of named alloys; List of straight-chain alkanes; Polyatomic ion – Ion containing two or more atoms; Exotic molecule – a compound containing one or more exotic atoms
Ligands may bridge two or more centres. The prefix μ is used to specify a bridging ligand in both the formula and the name. For example the dimeric form of aluminium trichloride: Al 2 Cl 4 (μ-Cl) 2 di-μ-chlorido-tetrachlorido-1κ 2 Cl,2κ 2 Cl-dialuminium. This example illustrates the ordering of bridging and non bridging ligands of the same ...