A water molecule is an example of a chemical compound, consisting of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen.

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements^[1][2][3] that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions.^[4] Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms^[3] that are held together in a defined spatial arrangement by chemical bonds. Chemical compounds can be molecular compounds held together by covalent bonds, salts held together by ionic bonds, intermetallic compounds held together by metallic bonds, or complexes held together by coordinate covalent bonds. Pure chemical elements are not considered chemical compounds, even if they consist of molecules which contain only multiple atoms of a single element (such as H₂, S₈, etc.),^[5] which are called diatomic molecules or polyatomic molecules.

Wider definitions[link]

There are exceptions to the definition above, and large amounts of the solid chemical matter familiar on Earth do not have simple formulas. Certain crystalline compounds are called "non-stoichiometric" because they vary in composition due to either the presence of foreign elements trapped within the crystal structure or a deficit or excess of the constituent elements. Such non-stoichiometric chemical compounds form most of the crust and mantle of the Earth.

Other compounds regarded as chemically identical may have varying amounts of heavy or light isotopes of the constituent elements, which will make the ratio of elements by mass vary slightly.

Elementary concepts[link]

Characteristic properties of compounds:

• Elements in a compound are present in a definite proportion

Example- 2 atoms of hydrogen + 1 atom of oxygen becomes 1 molecule of compound-water.

• Compounds have a definite set of properties

Elements comprising a compound do not retain their original properties.
Example: hydrogen (element, which is combustible and non-supporter of combustion) + oxygen (element, which is non-combustible and supporter of combustion) becomes water (compound, which is non-combustible and non-supporter of combustion)

Valency is the number of hydrogen atoms which can combine with one atom of the element forming a compound.

Compounds compared to mixtures[link]

The physical and chemical properties of compounds are different from those of their constituent elements. This is one of the main criteria for distinguishing a compound from a mixture of elements or other substances because a mixture's properties are generally closely related to and dependent on the properties of its constituents. Another criterion for distinguishing a compound from a mixture is that the constituents of a mixture can usually be separated by simple, mechanical means such as filtering, evaporation, or use of a magnetic force, but the components of a compound can only be separated by a chemical reaction. Conversely, mixtures can be created by mechanical means alone, but a compound can only be created (either from elements or from other compounds, or a combination of the two) by a chemical reaction.

Some mixtures are so intimately combined that they have some properties similar to compounds and may easily be mistaken for compounds. One example is alloys. Alloys are made mechanically, most commonly by heating the constituent metals to a liquid state, mixing them thoroughly, and then cooling the mixture quickly so that the constituents are trapped in the base metal. Other examples of compound-like mixtures include intermetallic compounds and solutions of alkali metals in a liquid form of ammonia.

Formula[link]

Chemists describe compounds using formulas in various formats. For compounds that exist as molecules, the formula for the molecular unit is shown. For polymeric materials, such as minerals and many metal oxides, the empirical formula is normally given, e.g. NaCl for table salt.

The elements in a chemical formula are normally listed in a specific order, called the Hill system. In this system, the carbon atoms (if there are any) are usually listed first, any hydrogen atoms are listed next, and all other elements follow in alphabetical order. If the formula contains no carbon, then all of the elements, including hydrogen, are listed alphabetically. There are, however, several important exceptions to the normal rules. For ionic compounds, the positive ion is almost always listed first and the negative ion is listed second. For oxides, oxygen is usually listed last.

Organic acids generally follow the normal rules with C and H coming first in the formula. For example, the formula for trifluoroacetic acid is usually written as C₂HF₃O₂. More descriptive formulas can convey structural information, such as writing the formula for trifluoroacetic acid as CF₃CO₂H. On the other hand, the chemical formulas for most inorganic acids and bases are exceptions to the normal rules. They are written according to the rules for ionic compounds (positive first, negative second), but they also follow rules that emphasize their Arrhenius definitions. Specifically, the formula for most inorganic acids begins with hydrogen and the formula for most bases ends with the hydroxide ion (OH^-). Formulas for inorganic compounds do not often convey structural information, as illustrated by the common use of the formula H₂SO₄ for a molecule (sulfuric acid) that contains no H-S bonds. A more descriptive presentation would be O₂S(OH)₂, but it is almost never written this way.

Phases and thermal properties[link]

Compounds may have several possible phases. All compounds can exist as solids, at least at low enough temperatures. Molecular compounds may also exist as liquids, gases, and, in some cases, even plasmas. All compounds decompose upon applying heat. The temperature at which such fragmentation occurs is often called the decomposition temperature. Decomposition temperatures are not sharp and depend on the rate of heating.

CAS number[link]

Every chemical substance, including chemical compounds, that has been described in the literature carries a unique numerical identifier, its CAS number.

See also[link]

• Chemical substance
• Chemical element
• Chemical Revolution
• Chemical structure
• Chemical name
• Dictionary of chemical formulas
• List of chemical compounds
• Addition to pi ligands

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Robert Siegfried (2002). From elements to atoms: a history of chemical composition. American Philosophical Society. ISBN 978-0-87169-924-4. 

External links[link]

Look up chemical compound in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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