Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry Compounds

Posted on Feb 11, 2025 in Chemistry

Oxides: Compounds formed by the reaction of oxygen with any other element: X2On

  • Systematic Nomenclature: prefix + name of element + oxide
  • Stock Nomenclature: name of element + oxide + (valence of element in Roman numerals)

Examples:

  • Sodium oxide: Na2O
  • Trinickel dioxide: Ni2O3
  • Lead monoxide: PbO
  • Dichloro heptaoxide: Cl2O7
  • Sulfur dioxide (sulfur (IV) oxide): S2O4 = SO2
  • Chlorine (V) oxide: Cl2O5
  • Diphosphorus pentaoxide: P2O5
  • Calcium oxide: CaO = Ca2O2

Hydrides: Compounds of hydrogen with a metallic element or with non-metals: B, C, Si, P, N, As, and Sb: XHn

  • Systematic Nomenclature: prefix + element name + hydride
  • Stock Nomenclature: element name + hydride + (valence of element)

Examples:

  • NaH: Sodium hydride
  • TiH4: Titanium tetrahydride / Titanium hydride (IV)
  • CH4: Carbon tetrahydride / Carbon hydride (IV)
  • KH: Potassium hydride
  • CuH2: Copper dihydride / Copper hydride (II)
  • BeH2: Beryllium dihydride / Beryllium hydride

Special Names for Non-Metal Hydrides:

  • BH3: Borane
  • CH4: Methane
  • SiH4: Silane
  • NH3: Ammonia
  • PH3: Phosphine
  • AsH3: Arsine
  • SbH3: Stibine

Hydracids: Hydrogen with a nonmetallic element from groups 16 (S, Se, Te) or 17 (F, Cl, Br, I): HnX

  • Gas: Hydrogen selenide H2Se
  • In dissolution: Selenhydric acid H2Se

Binary Salts: Cation metal (Mem+) and anion monatomic (Xn-): MenXm

  • Systematic Nomenclature: prefix + name of nonmetal + “-ide” + prefix + name of metal
  • Stock Nomenclature: Name of nonmetal + “-ide” + name of metal + (valence of metal)

Examples:

  • Sodium sulfide: Na2S
  • Titanium tetrachloride: TiCl4
  • Calcium selenide: Ca2Se2 = CaSe
  • Potassium iodide: KI

Compounds with Two Non-metals: MnXm

  • Systematic Nomenclature: prefix + name of nonmetal + “-ide” + prefix + name of second nonmetal
  • Stock Nomenclature: name of nonmetal + “-ide” + name of second nonmetal + (valence of nonmetal)

Example: Bromine trifluoride: BrF3

Hydroxides: Binary ionic compounds formed by combinations of a metal ion (Men+) and the hydroxide or hydroxyl ion (OH–): Me(OH)n

  • Systematic Nomenclature: prefix + hydroxide + name of metal
  • Stock Nomenclature: hydroxide + name of metal + (valence of the metal, in Roman numerals, if it has more than one valence)

Example: Ni(OH)2: Nickel(II) hydroxide

Common Ions:

  • Sodium ion: Na+
  • Magnesium ion: Mg2+
  • Aluminum ion: Al3+
  • Copper(II) ion: Cu2+
  • Ammonium ion: NH4+
  • Chloride ion: Cl–
  • Oxide ion: O2-
  • Sulfide ion: S2-
  • Hydroxide ion: OH–

Examples of Compounds and their Names:

  • PbO: Lead monoxide / Lead(II) oxide
  • MgH2: Magnesium dihydride / Magnesium hydride
  • LiCl: Lithium chloride
  • AlBr3: Aluminum tribromide / Aluminum bromide
  • SrO: Strontium oxide
  • ZnH2: Zinc dihydride / Zinc hydride
  • AuBr3: Gold tribromide / Gold(III) bromide

Oxoacids: HnXOb. Use the prefixes and suffixes used by the oxoanion, but change the suffix “-ate” to “-ic” and “-ite” to “-ous”.

  • Sulfurous acid: H2SO3
  • Phosphoric acid: H3PO4

Oxosalt (Neutral Salts): Men(XOb)m

  • Stock Nomenclature: Cation name + anion name

Examples:

  • Nickel(III) sulfate: Ni2(SO4)3
  • Lead(IV) carbonate: Pb(CO3)2
  • Aluminum phosphate: AlPO4
  • Magnesium bromide: MgBr2
  • Sodium nitrate: NaNO3
  • Phosphoric acid: H3PO4
  • Cobalt(II) chloride: CoCl2
  • Chloric acid: HClO3
  • Barium sulfate: BaSO4
  • Nitric acid: HNO3

Oxoanions: Polyatomic ions: XObn-

14151617PrefixSuffix
Per--ate
CO32-NO3–, PO43-SO42-ClO3–-ate
NO2–, PO33-SO32-ClO2–-ite
ClO–Hypo--ite
X = P, As, SbX = S, Se, TeX = Cl, Br, I

Note: In oxoanions, ‘X’ represents the central non-metal atom.