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ChemicalNomenclature

HomeTheBasicsNomenclature

Namingchemicalsubstances
Introductiontochemicalnomenclature
Chemicalnomenclatureisfartoobigatopictotreatcomprehensively,anditwouldbeauselessdiversiontoattemptto
dosoinabeginningcoursemostchemistrystudentspickupchemicalnamesandtherulesgoverningthemastheygo
along.
Butwecanhardlytalkaboutchemistrywithoutmentioningsomechemicalsubstances,allofwhichdohavenames
andoften,morethanone!Allwewilltrytodohereiscoverwhatyouneedtoknowtomakesenseoffirstyear
chemistry.Forthoseofyouwhoplantogooninchemistry,thereallyfunstuffcomeslater!

1Thechemistrynamegame
Therearemorethan100millionnamedchemicalsubstances. Whothinksupthenamesfor
allthesechemicals?Areweindangerofrunningoutofnewnames?Theanswertothelastquestionis"no",forthe
simplereasonthatthevastmajorityofthenamesarenot"thoughtup"thereareelaboraterulesforassigningnamesto
chemicalsubstancesonthebasisoftheirstructures.Thesearecalledsystematicnamestheymaybeabitponderous,
buttheyuniquelyidentifyagivensubstance.Therulesforthesenamesaredefinedbyaninternationalbody.Butin
ordertomakeindexingandidentificationeasier,everyknownchemicalsubstancehasitsownnumeric"personalID",
knownasaCASregistrynumber.About15,000newnumbersareissuedeveryday.

Commonnamesandsystematicnames
CASregistrynumbersareessentialtoolsfor
navigatingthroughtheforestofmultiple
namesforagivensubstance.Forexample,
ethanol,CH3CH2OH,isalsoknownasethyl
alcohol,grainalcohol,absolutealcohol,
hydroxyethylene,andethylhydratebut
eachbearsthesameregistrynumber64175.
AsofJune2015,thesinglesubstancewith
thegreatestnumberofsynonymsisthe
commonplasticpolyethyleneithas9,409
names!

Manychemicalsaresomuchapartofourlifethatweknowthembytheir
familiarnames,justlikeourotherfriends.Agivensubstancemayhave
severalcommonortrivialnamesordinarycanesugar,forexample,is
moreformallyknownas"sucrose",butaskingforitatthedinnertableby
thatnamewilllikelybeaconversationstopper,andIwon'tevenventure
topredicttheoutcomeifyoutryusingitssystematicnameinthesame
context:
"please pass the -D-glucopyranosyl-(1,2)- -D-fructofuranoside!"

But"sucrose"wouldbequiteappropriateifyouneedtodistinguishthis
particularsugarfromthehundredsofothernamedsugars.Theonlyplace
youwouldcomeacrossasystematicnameliketheratherunwieldyonementionedhereiswhenreferring(inprintorin
acomputerdatabase)toasugarthathasnocommonname.
Chemicalsubstanceshavebeenapartthefabricofcivilizationandcultureforthousandsofyears,andpresentday
chemistryretainsalotofthisancientbaggageintheformoftermswhosehiddenculturalandhistoricconnectionsadd
colorandinteresttothesubject.Manycommonchemicalnameshavereachedusonlyafterremarkablylongjourneys
throughtimeandplace,asthefollowingtwoexamplesillustrate:

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Mostpeoplecanassociatethenameammonia(NH3 )withagashavingapungent
odorthesystematicname"nitrogentrihydride"(whichisrarelyused)willtellyouits
formula.Whatitwillnottellyouisthatsmokefromburningcameldung(thestaplefuel
ofNorthAfrica)condensesoncoolsurfacestoformacrystallinedeposit.Theancient
RomansfirstnoticedthisonthewallsandceilingofthetemplethattheEgyptianshad
builttotheSungodAmuninThebes,andtheynamedthematerialsalammoniac,
meaning"saltofAmun".In1774,JosephPriestly(thediscovererofoxygen)foundthat
heatingsalammoniacproducedagaswithapungentodor,whichaT.Bergmannamed
"ammonia"eightyearslater.
Arabicalchemyhasgivenusanumberofchemicaltermsforexample,alcoholis
believedtoderivefromArabicalkhwloralghawlwhoseoriginalmeaningwasa
metallicpowderusedtodarkenwomen'seyelids(kohl).
AlcoholenteredtheEnglishlanguageinthe17thCenturywiththemeaningofa
"sublimated"substance,thenbecamethe"purespirit"ofanything,andonlybecame
associatedwith"spiritofwine"in1753.Finally,in1852,itbecomeapartofchemical
nomenclaturethatdenotedacommonclassoforganiccompound.Butit'sstill
commonpracticetorefertothespecificsubstanceCH3 CH2 OHas"alcohol"ratherthen
itssystematicnameethanol.

Thegeneralpracticeamongchemistsistousethemorecommonchemicalnameswheneveritispracticaltodoso,
especiallyinspokenorinformalwrittencommunication.Formanyoftheverysimplestcompounds(includingmostof
thoseyouwillencounterinafirstyearcourse),thesystematicandcommonnamesarethesame,butwherethereisa
differenceandifthecontextpermitsit,thecommonnameisusuallypreferred.

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Somenamesaremorecommonthanothers
Manyofthe"common"nameswerefertointhislessonareknownandusedmainlybythescientificcommunity.
Chemicalsubstancesthatareemployedinthehome,thearts,orinindustryhaveacquiredtraditionalor"popular"
namesthatarestillinwideuse.Many,likesalammoniacmentionedabove,havefascinatingstoriestotell.Hereisa
briefsampleofsomeothertraditionalnames:
popularname

chemicalname

formula

borax

sodiumtetraboratedecahydrate

Na2B4O710H2O

calomel

mercury(I)chloride

Hg2Cl2

milkofmagnesia

magnesiumhydroxide

Mg(OH)2

muriaticacid

hydrochloricacid

HCl(aq)

oilofvitriol

sulfuricacid

H2SO4

saltpeter

sodiumnitrate

NaNO3

slakedlime

calciumhydroxide

Ca(OH)2

Minerals
Mineralsaresolidmaterialsthatoccurintheearthwhichareclassifiedandnamedaccordingtotheircompositions
(whichoftenvaryoveracontinuousrange)andthearrangementoftheatomsintheircrystallattices.Thereareabout
4000namedminerals.Manyarenamedafterplaces,people,orproperties,andmostfrequentlyendwithite.Seehere
foranextensivelist.
Proprietarynames
Chemistryisamajorindustry,soitisnotsurprisingthatmanysubstancesaresoldundertrademarkednames.Thisis
especiallycommoninthepharmaceuticalindustry,whichusescomputerstochurnoutnamesthattheyhopewill
distinguishanewproductfromthoseofitscompetitors.PerhapsthemostfamousoftheseisAspirin,whosenamewas
coinedbytheGermancompanyBayerin1899.ThistradenamewasseizedbytheU.S.governmentfollowingWorld
WarI,andisnolongeraprotectedtrademarkinthatcountry.
Someinterestingnames
Thosewhodon'tthinkthatchemistshaveasenseofhumorshouldhavealookatthissitebyProf.Paul
MayoftheUniversityofBristolintheUK:
MoleculeswithSillyorUnusualNames
...whichwillbeespeciallyenjoyedbyteenmalesofallages.

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2NamesandsymbolsoftheElements
Namingofchemicalsubstancesbeginswiththenamesoftheelements.Thediscovererofanelementhastraditionally
hadtherighttonameit,andonecanfindsomeinterestinghumanandculturalhistoryinthesenames,manyofwhich
refertotheelement'spropertiesortogeographiclocations.Onlysomeofthemorerecentlydiscovered(andartificially
produced)elementsarenamedafterpeople.
element
name

symbol

Latinname

antimony

Sb

stibium

copper

Cu

cuprum

gold

Au

aurum

iron

Fe

ferrum

lead

Pb

plumbum

mercury

Hg

hydrargyrum

potassium

kalium

sodium

Na

natrium

tin

Sn

stannum

Someelementswerenotreally"discovered",buthavebeenknownsince
ancienttimesmanyofthesehavesymbolsthatarederivedfromtheLatin
namesoftheelements.TherearenineelementswhoseLatinderived
symbolsyouareexpectedtoknow.

Whatistheoldestmentionofaparticularelement?Onecandidateistheancient
JewishlegendofthedestructionofSodomandGomorrahbybrimstone(sulfur)as
recordedinGenesis19:24:"ThentheLordraineduponSodomandGomorrah
brimstoneandfirefromtheLordoutofheaven."
Thereisalotofhistoryandtraditioninmanyofthesenames.For
example,theLatinnameformercury,hydrargyrum,means"water
silver",orquicksilver.Theappellation"quack",asappliedtoan
incompetentphysician,isacorruptionoftheFlemishwordfor
quicksilver,andderivesfromtheuseofmercurycompoundsin17th
centurymedicine.Thename"mercury"isofalchemicaloriginandisof
coursederivedfromthenameoftheGreekgodafterwhomtheplanetis
namedtheenigmaticpropertiesoftheelement,atthesametime
metallic,fluid,andvaporizable,suggestthesamemessengerwiththe
wingedfeetwhocirclesthroughtheheavensclosetothesun.

Anexcellentguidetochemical
nomenclaturecanbefoundonthis
Shodorpage.

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videosonbasicchemicalnomenclature
(MrChung,7min)
(MrChung,15min)
(MrChung,14min)
(MrChung,15min)
(MrAnderson,11min)
(NrAnderson,5min)

3Namingthebinarymolecules
Formorehelponnomenclature,see
thesectiononvideosnearthebottom
ofthispage.

Thesystemusedfornamingchemicalsubstancesdependsonthenatureof
themolecularunitsmakingupthecompound.Theseareusuallyeitherions
ormoleculesdifferentrulesapplytoeach.Inthissection,wediscussthe

simplestbinary(twoatom)molecules.

Numbersinnames
Itisoftennecessarytodistinguishbetweencompoundsinwhichthesameelementsarepresentindifferent
proportionscarbonmonoxideCOandcarbondioxideCO2arefamiliartoeveryone.Chemists,perhapshopingitwill
legitimizethemasscholars,employGreek(ofsometimesLatin)prefixestodesignatenumberswithinnamesyouwill
encounterthesefrequently,andyoushouldknowthem:
Youwilloccasionallyseenamessuch
asdihydrogenanddichlorineusedto
distinguishthecommonformsof
theseelements(H2,Cl2)fromthe
atomsthathavethesamename
whenitisrequiredforclarity.

1/2

10

hemi

mono

di

tri

tetra

penta

hexa

hepta

octa

nona

deca

Examples:
N2O4dinitrogentetroxide[notethemissingaprecedingthevowel]
N2Odinitrogenoxide[morecommonly,nitrousoxide]
SF 6sulfurhexafluoride
P 4S 3tetraphosphorustrisulfide[morecommonly,phosphorussesquisulfide]
Na2HPO4disodiumhydrogenphosphate
H2Shydrogensulfide[weskipboththediandmono]
COcarbonmonoxide[monotodistinguishitfromthedioxide]
CaSO4H2Ocalciumsulfatehemihydrate[Inthissolid,twoCaSO4unitsshareonewaterofhydrationbetweenthem
morecommonlycalledPlasterofParis]
Itwillbeapparentfromtheseexamplesthatchemistsareinthehabitoftakingafewlibertiesinapplyingthestrict
numericprefixestothemorecommonlyknownsubstances.

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Binarycompoundsofnonmetals
Thesetwoelementcompoundsareusuallyquiteeasytonamebecausemostofthemfollowthesystematicruleof
addingthesuffixidetotherootnameofthesecondelement,whichisnormallythemore"negative"one.Severalsuch
examplesareshownabove.

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Butasnotedabove,therearesomeimportantexceptionsinwhichcommonorqH2O(water,notdihydrogenoxide)/
H2O2(hydrogenperoxide,notdihydrogendioxide)
H2S(hydrogensulfide,notdihydrogensulfide)
NH3(ammonia,notnitrogentrihydride)
NO(nitricoxide,notnitrogenmonoxide)
N2O(nitrousoxide,notdinitrogenoxide)
CH4(methane,notcarbontetrahydride)

4Namingthechemicalions
Anionisanelectricallychargedatomormoleculethatis,oneinwhichthenumberofelectronsdiffersfromthe
numberofnuclearprotons.Manysimplecompoundscanberegarded,atleastinaformalway,asbeingmadeupofa
pairofionshavingoppositechargesigns.

Cations
Thepositiveions,alsoknownascations,aremostlythoseofmetallicelementswhichsimplytakethenameofthe
elementitself.
calcium

sodium

magnesium

cadmium

potassium

Ca2+

Na+

Mg2+

Cd2+

K+

Theonlyimportantnonmetalliccationsyouneedtoknowaboutare
hydrogen

hydronium

ammonium

H+

H3O+

NH4+

(Lateron,whenyoustudyacidsandbases,youwilllearnthatthefirsttworepresentthesamechemicalspecies.)
Multivalentcations
Someofthemetallicionsaremultivalent,meaningthattheycanexhibitmorethanoneelectriccharge.Forthesethere
aresystematicnamesthatuseRomannumerals,andthemucholderandlesscumbersomecommonnamesthatmostly
employtheLatinnamesoftheelements,usingtheendingsousandictodenotethelowerandhighercharges,
respectively.(Incaseswheremorethantwochargevaluesarepossible,thesystematicnamesareused.)Theonly
onesyouneedtoknowinthiscoursearethefollowing:
Cu +

Cu 2+

Fe2+

Fe3+

*Hg22+

Hg2+

Sn 2+

Sn 4+

copper(I)

copper(II)

iron(II)

iron(III)

mercury(I)

mercury(II)

tin(II)

tin(IV)

cuprous

cupric

ferrous

ferric

mercurous

mercuric

stannous

stannic

*ThemercurousionisauniquedoublecationthatissometimesincorrectlyrepresentedasHg +.

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Anions
Thenonmetallicelementsgenerallyformnegativeions(anions).Thenamesofthemonatomicanionsallendwiththe
idesuffix:
Cl

S2

O2

C4

chloride

sulfide

oxide

carbide

iodide

hydride

Thereareanumberofimportantpolyatomicanionswhich,fornamingpurposes,canbedividedintoseveralcategories.
Afewfollowthepatternforthemonatomicanions:
OH

CN

O2

hydroxide

cyanide

peroxide

Oxyanions
Themostcommonoxygencontaininganions(oxyanions)havenamesendinginate,butifavariantcontainingasmall
numberofoxygenatomsexists,ittakesthesuffixite.
CO32

NO3

NO2

SO42

SO32

PO43

carbonate

nitrate

nitrite

sulfate

sulfite

phosphate

Theaboveions(withtheexceptionofnitrate)canalsocombinewithH+toproduce"acid"formshavingsmaller
negativecharges.Forratherobscurehistoricreasons,someofthemhavecommonnamesthatbeginwithbiwhich,
althoughofficiallydiscouraged,arestillinwideuse:
ion

systematicname

commonname

HCO3

hydrogencarbonate

bicarbonate

HSO4

hydrogensulfate

bisulfate

HSO3

hydrogensulfite

bisulfite

Chlorine,andtoasmallerextentbromineandiodine,formamoreextensiveseriesofoxyanionsthatrequiresa
somewhatmoreintricatenamingconvention:
ClO

ClO2

ClO3

ClO4

hypochlorite

chlorite

chlorate

perchlorate

5Namesofionderivedcompounds
Thesecompoundsareformallyderivedfrompositiveions(cations)andnegativeions(anions)inaratiothatgivesan
electricallyneutralunit.
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Salts
Salts,ofwhichordinary"salt"(sodiumchloride)isthemostcommonexample,areallsolidsunderordinaryconditions.
Asmallnumberofthese(suchasNaCl)doretaintheircomponentionsandareproperlycalled"ionicsolids".Inmany
cases,however,theionslosetheirelectricallychargedcharacterandformlargelynonionicsolidssuchasCuCl2
whichisdescribedhere.Theterm"ionderivedsolids"encompassesbothoftheseclassesofcompounds.
Mostofthecationsandanionsdescribedabovecancombinetoformsolidcompoundsthatareusuallyknownassalts.
Theoneoverridingrequirementisthattheresultingcompoundmustbeelectricallyneutral:thustheionsCa 2+andBr
combineonlyina1:2ratiotoformcalciumbromide,CaBr2.Becausenoothersimplestformulaispossible,thereisno
needtonameit"calciumdibromide".
Sincesomemetallicelementsformcationshavingdifferentpositivecharges,thenamesofioniccompoundsderived
fromtheseelementsmustcontainsomeindicationofthecationcharge.Theoldermethodusesthesuffixesousandic
todenotethelowerandhighercharges,respectively.Inthecasesofironandcopper,theLatinnamesoftheelements
areused:ferrous,cupric.
Thissystemisstillwidelyused,althoughithasbeenofficiallysupplantedbythemoreprecise,ifslightlycumbersome
Stocksysteminwhichoneindicatesthecationiccharge(actually,theoxidationnumber)bymeansofRomannumerals
followingthesymbolforthecation.Inbothsystems,thenameoftheanionendsinide.
formula

systematicname

commonname

CuCl

copper(I)chloride

cuprouschloride

CuCl2

copper(II)chloride

cupricchloride

Hg 2 Cl

mercury(I)chloride

mercurouschloride

HgO

mercury(II)oxide

mercuricoxide

FeS

iron(II)sulfide

ferroussulfide

Fe2 S3

iron(III)sulfide

ferricsulfide

Acids
MostacidscanberegardedasacombinationofahydrogenionH+withananionthenameoftheanionisreflectedin
thenameoftheacid.Notice,inthecaseoftheoxyacids,howtheanionsuffixesateanditebecomeicandous,
respectively,intheacidname.Yes,chemistryhasagrammarmuchlikethatofanyotherlanguageandquitealotof
itisirregular!
anion

anionname

acid

acidname

HCl

hydrochloricacid

Cl

chlorideion

CO3 2

carbonateion

H2 CO3

carbonicacid

NO2

nitriteion

HNO2

nitrousacid

NO3

nitrateion

HNO3

nitricacid

SO3 2

sulfiteion

H2 SO3

sulfurousacid

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SO4 2

sulfateion

H2 SO4

CH3 COO

acetateion

CH3 COOH

sulfuricacid
aceticacid

6Namingorganiccompounds
Sinceorganic(carbon)compoundsconstitutethevastmajorityofallknownchemicalsubstances,organic
nomenclatureisahugesubjectinitself.Wepresenthereonlytheverybasicpartofitthatyouneedtoknowinfirst
yearchemistrymuchmoreawaitsthoseofyouwhoaretoexperiencethepleasuresofanorganicchemistrycourse
lateron.

Specifyingcarbonchainlength
Thesimplestorganiccompoundsarebuiltofstraightchainsofcarbonatomswhicharenamedbymeansofprefixes
thatdenotethenumberofcarbonsinthechain.UsingtheconventionCntodenoteastraightchainofnatoms(don't
evenaskaboutbranchedchains!),theprefixesforchainlengthsfrom1through10aregivenhere:
C1

C2

C3

C4

C5

C6

C7

C8

C9

C10

meth

eth

prop

but

pent

hex

hept

oct

non

dec

Asyoucansee,chainsfromC5onwarduseGreeknumberprefixes,soyoudon'thavealotnewtolearnhere.The
simplestofthesecompoundsarehydrocarbonshavingthegeneralformulaCnH2n+2.Theyareknowngenericallyas
alkanes,andtheirnamesallcombinetheappropriatenumericalprefixwiththeendingane:
CH4

C2 H6

C3 H8

C8 H18

CC

CCC

CCCCCCCC

methane

ethane

propane

octane

Allcarbonatomsmusthavefourbondsattachedtothemnoticethecommonconventionofnotshowinghydrogen
atomsexplicitly.

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Functionalgroups
Byreplacingoneormoreofthehydrogenatomsofacarbonchainwiththeappropriatefunctionalgroup,various
classesofcompoundscanbeobtained.Tokeepthingsassimpleaspossible,wegiveexamplesonlyforstraightchain
alkaneswithonesubstituent.NotealsothatinC3andhigherchains,thesubstituentcanbeinmorethanonelocation,
thusgivingrisetonumerousisomers.
Alcohols:thehydroxylgroup
formula

commonname

systematicname

CH3 OH

methylalcohol

methanol

CH3 CH2 OH

ethylalcohol

ethanol

C8 H15 OH

octylalcohol

octanol

Acids:Thecarboxylgroup
formula

commonname

systematicname

HCOOH

formicacid

methanoicacid

CH3 COOH

aceticacid

ethanoicacid

C4 H9 COOH

butyricacid

butanoicacid

Afewothers...
class

example

name

amine

methylamine

CH3 NH2

ketone

acetone
(dimethylketone)

CH3 COCH3

ether

diethylether

C2 H5 OC2 H5

Whatyoushouldbeabletodo
Differentinstructorssetoutwidelyvaryingrequirementsforchemicalnomenclature.Thefollowingareprobablythe
mostcommonlyexpected:
Youshouldknowthenameandsymbolsofatleastthefirsttwentyelements,aswellasallofthehalogenandnoblegas
groups(groups1718).
Nameanybinarymolecule,usingthestandardprefixesfor110.
Allofthecommonlyencounteredions.
Saltsandotherionderivedcompounds,includingtheacidslistedhere.Insomecoursesyouwillnotneedtoknowthe
ous/icnamesforsaltsofcopper,iron,etc.,butinothersyouwill.
Findoutfromyourinstructorwhichorganiccompoundsyoumustbeabletoname.
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