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Concept
Chemical nomenclature
Summary
A chemical nomenclature is a set of rules to generate systematic names for chemical compounds. The nomenclature used most frequently worldwide is the one created and developed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).
The IUPAC's rules for naming organic and inorganic compounds are contained in two publications, known as the Blue Book and the Red Book, respectively. A third publication, known as the Green Book, recommends the use of symbols for physical quantities (in association with the IUPAP), while a fourth, the Gold Book, defines many technical terms used in chemistry. Similar compendia exist for biochemistry (the White Book, in association with the IUBMB), analytical chemistry (the Orange Book), macromolecular chemistry (the Purple Book), and clinical chemistry (the Silver Book). These "color books" are supplemented by specific recommendations published periodically in the journal Pure and Applied Chemistry.
The main goal of chemical nomenclature is to disambiguate the spoken or written names of chemical compounds: each name should refer to one compound. Secondarily: each compound should have only one name, although in some cases some alternative names are accepted.
Preferably, the name should also reflect the structure or chemistry of a compound. This is achieved by the International Chemical Identifier (InChI) nomenclature. However, the American Chemical Society's CAS numbers nomenclature reflects nothing of the compound's structure.
The nomenclature used depends on the needs of the user, so no single correct nomenclature exists. Rather, different nomenclatures suit different circumstances.
A common name will successfully identify a chemical compound, given context. Without context, the name should indicate at least the chemical composition. To be more specific, the name may need to reflect the three-dimensional arrangement of the atoms.This requires adding more rules to the standard IUPAC system (the CAS system is the most commonly used in this context), at the expense of having longer and less familiar names.
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