Names

The systematic naming of chemical substances is not easy and authoritative guide to inorganic nomenclature fills a book of 299 pages. Several trivial names such as water (H₂O) will all the time remain in use. Systematic nomenclature is based on the three systems.

Binary names

Simple examples are sodium chloride (NaCl), dinitrogen tetroxide (N₂O₄) and phosphorus trichloride (PCl₃). The oxidation state might be given as an substitute to the stoichiometry, like in manganese (IV) oxide or manganese dioxide, MnO₂. This is not necessary when only one possibility is known, like in magnesium bromide (MgBr₂).

Elements are named in similar order as they appear in the formula (see above). Even though, there is no implication that the compound is ionic, the names ending in -ide are similar those used for anions (example fluoride, F^-). For the elements listed in the below Table 1. anion names are derived not from English but from the Latin name that gives the chemical symbol. For instance, CsAu is cesium auride.

Binary naming might be extended to include complex ions with recognized names like in sodium cyanide (NaCN), ammonium chloride (NH₄Cl), and magnesium sulfate (Mg₂SO₄). Some general oxoanions are listed elsewhere. Several other complex ions can be named systematically as discussed below in the table.

Substitutive names

This is the system employed in organic chemistry, like in dichloromethane, CH₂Cl₂, that can be regarded as derived from methane CH₄ by replacing two hydrogens with chlorine. (There is no any assumption that this is a chemically possible route for preparation.) It might be extended to inorganic molecules using the suitable hydride names. So from silane (SiH₄) we obtain names like chlorosilane (SiH₃Cl) and tetrachlorosilane (SiCl₄) the later being also termed as silicon tetrachloride. For the nitrogen compounds derived from ammonia (NH₃) the root amine is employed, as, for instance, in hydroxylamine (NH₂OH).

Coordination names

This system is employed in compounds that can be considered as complexes formed by the coordination of atoms or groups to a central atom. Instances from transition metal chemistry are tetraamminecopper(2⁺) ion or tetraamminecopper(II) ion, [Cu(NH₃)₄]²⁺, and tetrachlorocuprate(2^-) or tetrachlorocuprate(II), [CuCl₄]². Either the entire charge on the complex ion or the oxidation state of the central atom is given (the later all the time with Roman numerals). Anion names end in -ate and make use of the Latin roots for elements displayed in Table 1. Coordination names are also extensively used for complex ions with maingroup elements, for an instance tetrahydroborate, [BH₄]^-; in this instance the charge or oxidation state may be omitted as only one option is known.

Instances of the use of coordination names in the binary system are the solids hexaamminenickel dibromide, [Ni(NH₃)₆]Br₂ and potassium hexafluorophosphate(V), K[PF₆].