Naming Binary Molecular Compounds

Binary molecular compounds are composed of only two elements. Examples are
H2O, NO, SF6 etc. . Naming these binary compounds is a little bit more involved
than naming salts. Why is this so? Molecular compounds are more difficult to
name because the atoms combine through covalent and not ionic bonds. Therefore
we cannot use the electrical neutrality rule for these compounds. Most molecular
compounds are made from nonmetals.

Sometimes these compounds have generic or common names (e.g., H2O is

"water") and they also have systematic names (e.g., H2O, dihydrogen monoxide).
The common name must be memorized. The systematic name is more complicated
but it has the advantage that the formula of the compound can be deduced from the
name.

Simple binary compounds consist of only a few atoms. Systematic naming of these
compounds follow the rules:

 The elements , except for H, are are written in order of increasing group
number (e.g., NO not ON)
 The number of atoms of a given type is designated by a prefix such as di- ,
tri-, tetra- etc. (The exception to this rule is for the first atom: if the first
atom is "mono" then no prefix for it is given.) (e.g., NO is nitrogen
monoxide not mononitrogen monoxide)

Common
name
Compound Systematic name
(if it has
one)
NF3 nitrogen trifluoride
NO nitrogen monoxide nitric oxide
NO2 nitrogen dioxide
dinitrogen laughing
N2O
monoxide gas
dinitrogen
N2O4
tetraoxide
phosphorous
PCl5
pentachloride
SF6 sulfur hexafluoride
disulfur
S2F10
decafluoride
 dihydrogen
H2O water
monoxide
dihydrogen hydrogen
H2S
monosulfide sulfide
NH3 nitrogen trihydride ammonia
dinitrogen
N2H4 hydrazine
tetrahydride
phosphorous
PH3 phosphine
trihydride
BINARY MOLECULAR (COVALENT) COMPOUNDS
Binary molecular (covalent) compounds are formed as the result of a reaction between
two nonmetals. Although there are no ions in these compounds, they are named in a similar
manner to binary ionic compounds. The nomenclature of binary covalent compounds follows
these rules:
1. The first element in the formula is given first, using the element’s full name.
2. The second element is named as if it were an anion.
3. Prefixes are used to denote the numbers of atoms present. If the first element exists as a
single atom, the prefix mono- is omitted. For example, CO is called carbon monoxide rather
than monocarbon monoxide.
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These examples show how the rules are applied for the covalent compounds formed
by nitrogenand oxygen:
compound systematic name common name
N2O dinitrogen monoxide nitrous oxide (laughing gas)
NO nitrogen monoxide nitric oxide
NO2 nitrogen dioxide
N2O3 dinitrogen trioxide
N2O4 dinitrogen tetroxide
N2O5 dinitrogen pentoxide
To avoid awkward pronunciations, the final o or a of the prefix is often dropped when the
element name begins with a vowel. For example, N2O4 is referred to as dinitrogen tetroxide,
not dinitrogen tetraoxide, and CO is called carbon monoxide, not carbon monooxide.
Prefixes used in
chemical nomenclature
prefix number of atoms

mono- 1

di- 2
tri- 3

tetra- 4

penta- 5

hexa- 6

hepta- 7

octa- 8

Nonbinary compounds
IONIC COMPOUNDS CONTAINING POLYATOMIC IONS
A special type of ionic compound is exemplified by ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), which
contains two polyatomic ions, NH4+ and NO3−. As the name suggests, a polyatomic ion is a
charged entity composed of several atoms bound together. Polyatomic ions have special
names that are used in the nomenclature of the compounds containing them.
Common polyatomic ions
ion name ion name

NH4+ ammonium CO32− carbonate

NO2− nitrite HCO3− hydrogen carbonate**

NO3− nitrate ClO− hypochlorite

SO32− sulfite ClO2− chlorite

SO42− sulfate ClO3− chlorate

HSO4− hydrogen sulfate* ClO4− perchlorate

OH− hydroxide C2H3O2− acetate

CN− cyanide MnO4− permanganate

PO43− phosphate Cr2O72− dichromate

HPO42− hydrogen phosphate CrO42− chromate

H2PO4− dihydrogen phosphate O22− peroxide

*Bisulfate and **bicarbonate are widely used common names for hydrogen sulfate
and hydrogen carbonate, respectively.
Several series of polyatomic anions exist that contain an atom of a given element in
combination with different numbers of oxygen atoms. Such anions are called oxy anions.
When the series contains only two members, the name of the ion with fewer oxygen atoms
ends in -ite, and the name of the other ion ends in -ate. For example, SO32− is
called sulfite and SO42− is called sulfate. In those cases where more than two oxy anions
constitute the series, hypo- (less than) and per- (more than) are used as prefixes to name the
members of the series with the smallest and the largest number of oxygen atoms,
respectively. The chlorine-containing oxy anions provide an example:
ClO− hypochlorite
ClO2− chlorite
ClO3− chlorate
ClO4− perchlorate
Naming ionic compounds that contain polyatomic ions is similar to naming binary ionic
compounds. For example, the compound NaOH is called sodium hydroxide, because it
contains the Na+ (sodium) cation and the OH− (hydroxide) anion. As in binary ionic
compounds, when ametal that can form multiple cations is present, a Roman numeral is
required to specify the charge on the cation. For example, the compound FeSO4 is called
iron(II) sulfate, because it contains Fe2+.
ACIDS
An acid can be thought of as a molecule containing at least one hydrogen cation (H+) attached
to an anion. The nomenclature of acids depends on whether the anion contains oxygen. If the
anion does not contain oxygen, the acid is named with the prefix hydro- and the suffix -ic.
For example, HCl dissolved in water is called hydrochloric acid. Likewise, HCN and H2S
dissolved in water are called hydrocyanic and hydrosulfuric acids, respectively.
If the anion of the acid contains oxygen, the name is formed by adding the suffix -ic or -ous
to the root name of the anion. If the anion name ends in -ate, the -ate is replaced by -ic (or
sometimes -ric). For example, H2SO4 contains the sulfate anion (SO42−) and is called sulfuric
acid; H3PO4 contains the phosphate anion (PO43−) and is called phosphoric acid; and
HC2H3O2, which contains the acetate ion (C2H3O2−), is called acetic acid. For anions with an -
ite ending, the -ite is replaced by -ous in naming the acid. For example, H2SO3, which
contains sulfite (SO32−), is called sulfurous acid; and HNO2, which contains nitrite (NO2−), is
namednitrous acid. The acids of the oxy anions of chlorine are used here to illustrate the rules
for naming acids with oxygen-containing cations.
Names of common acids
formula name

HF hydrofluoric acid

HCl hydrochloric acid

HBr hydrobromic acid

HI hydroiodic acid

HCN hydrocyanic acid

H2S hydrosulfuric acid

HNO3 nitric acid

HNO2 nitrous acid

H2SO4 sulfuric acid

H2SO3 sulfurous acid

HC2H3O2 acetic acid

Names of less common acids

formula name

H3BO3 orthoboric acid*

H2CO3 carbonic acid

H3PO4 orthophosphoric acid**

H4P2O7 pyrophosphoric acid

H5P3O10 triphosphoric acid

(HPO3)n metaphosphoric acid

(HPO3)3 trimetaphosphoric acid

H3PO3 phosphorous acid

H3PO2 hypophosphorous acid

H2SO5 peroxosulfuric acid

H2S2O6 dithionic acid

H2S2O3 thiosulfuric acid

HMnO4 permanganic acid

*Often called boric acid.

**Often called phosphoric acid.
acid formula anion name
HClO4 perchlorate perchloric acid
HClO3 chlorate chloric acid
HClO2 chlorite chlorous acid
HClO hypochlorite hypochlorous acid
COMPOUNDS WITH COMPLEX IONS
A coordination compound is composed of one or more complex structural units, each of
which has a central atom bound directly to a surrounding set of groups called ligands. The
nomenclature of coordination compounds is based on these structural relationships.
Steven S. Zumdahl
Organic compounds
In general, organic compounds are substances that contain carbon (C), and
carbon atomsprovide the key structural framework that generates the vast diversity of organic
compounds. All things on the Earth (and most likely elsewhere in the universe) that can be
described as livinghave a crucial dependence on organic compounds. Foodstuffs—
namely, fats, proteins, andcarbohydrates—are organic compounds, as are such vital
substances as hemoglobin,chlorophyll, enzymes, hormones, and vitamins. Other materials
that add to the comfort, health, or convenience of humans are composed of organic
compounds, including clothing made of cotton, wool, silk, and synthetic fibres; common
fuels, such as wood, coal, petroleum, and natural gas; components of protective coatings,
such as varnishes, paints, lacquers, and enamels;antibiotics and synthetic drugs; natural and
synthetic rubber; dyes; plastics; and pesticides.
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