Chemical
Nomenclature
1. Binary Covalent Compounds
2. Binary Ionic Compounds - Type I
3. Binary Ionic Compounds - Type II
4. Ionic Compounds & Polyatomic (Complex) Ions
5. Hydrated Ionic Compounds
Type I Binary Ionic Compounds

The metal cations in these compounds have
only ONE possible charge.
Na+
sodium
Zn2+
zinc
Al3+
aluminum
Ca2+
calcium
The charges are memorized or predicted using a periodic table!

The cations are bonded to nonmetal anions:
O2oxide
N3nitride
Ffluoride
Br bromide
Notice that simple anions are always named with the
suffix “ide”
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In an ionic compound, the charges of the
cations and anions must always cancel out.
Subscripts are used if more than one atom is
needed to cancel the charges:
sodium chloride:
Na+ and Cl- 
lithium oxide:
Li+ and O2- 
aluminum bromide:
Al3+ and Br -  AlBr3
zinc nitride:
Zn2+ and N3-  Zn3N2
potassium iodide:
K+ and I- 
silver phosphide:
Ag+ and P3-  Ag3P
NaCl
Li2O
KI
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the formula:
K+
O2K2O
Name the compound:
Potassium oxide
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the formula:
2+
Zn
Cl
ZnCl2
Name the compound:
zinc chloride
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the formula:
Ag+
S2-
Ag2S
Name the compound:
silver sulfide
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the formula:
Al3+ N3AlN
Name the compound:
aluminum nitride
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the formula:
Ga3+ O2Ga2O3
Name the compound:
gallium oxide
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the formula:
Ca2+
ICaI2
Name the compound:
calcium iodide
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the name:
K3N
potassium nitride
Write the ions:
K+
N3-
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the name:
AgI
silver iodide
Write the ions:
Ag+
I-
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the name:
ZnBr2
zinc bromide
Write the ions:
2+
Zn
Br
-
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the names:
Al2O3
aluminum oxide
Write the ions:
Al3+
O2-
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the names:
Ba3P2
barium phosphide
Write the ions:
Ba2+
P3-
Examples: Type I Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the name:
LiH
lithium hydride
Write the ions:
Li+
H-
Type II Binary Ionic Compounds

These are ionic compounds where the metal cation
can form TWO different charges.
Fe2+
iron (II)
Fe3+
iron (III)
Ni2+
nickel (II)
Ni3+
nickel (III)
Co2+
cobalt (II)
Co3+
cobalt (III)
Cu+
copper (I)
Cu2+
copper (II)
Au+
gold (I)
Au3+
gold (III)
Sn2+
tin (II)
Sn4+
tin (IV)
An older system uses suffixes and Latin names, -ous for
the lower charge, -ic for the higher charge:
Ferrous & Ferric, Cuprous & Cupric, Stannous & Stannic
Examples: Type II Binary Ionic Compounds
Write the formulas:
Write the names:
• iron (II) oxide
• Fe2O3
• copper (II) chloride
• SnS
• tin (IV) sulfide
• NiBr2
• cupric nitride
•CuS
• nickel (III) oxide
• Pb3P2
• ferrous iodide
• CuBr
•cobalt (III) selenide
• FeCl3
Polyatomic (Complex) Ions


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All of the cations and anions so far have been simple
ions - single atoms that have lost or gained electrons.
A molecule is a particle that forms when two or more
atoms bond together.
A complex ion is a charged molecule. Complex ions
may be cations or anions.
examples:
nitrate: NO3-
sulfate: SO42-
hydroxide: OH-
Writing formulas with Complex Ions
a) Ammonium chloride
NH4Cl
b) Silver sulfate
Ag2SO4
c) Aluminum hydroxide
Al(OH)3
d) Calcium phosphate
Ca3(PO4)2
e) Iron (III) nitrite
Fe(NO2)3
f) Copper(II) permanganate
Cu(MnO4)2
g) Ammonium dichromate
(NH4)2Cr2O7
h) Zinc acetate
Zn(CH3COO)2
Things to Notice


Most complex ions are anions. Ammonium, NH4+, is
the most common complex cation.
Several complex ions form a short series of ions.
The ions differ only in the number of oxygen atoms:
perchorate
ClO4-
sulfate
SO42-
chlorate
ClO3-
sulfite
SO32-
chlorite
ClO2-
hypochlorite
ClO-
nitrate
NO3-
nitrite
NO2-

If an ion carries a charge like “-2” or “-3”, a series of
related ions can be formed by adding hydrogen cations
(H+) while still leaving a net charge:
examples:
Sulfide:
S2-
hydrogen sulfide:
HS-
(bisulfide)
Sulfate:
SO42-
hydrogen sulfate:
HSO4-
(bisulfate)
Carbonate: CO32-
hydrogen carbonate:
HCO3-
(bicarbonate)
Phosphate: PO43-
hydrogen phosphate:
HPO42-
dihydrogen phosphate: H2PO4-
More Formulas with Complex Ions
a) Sodium bicarbonate
NaHCO3
b) Nickel (II) hydrogen sulfide
Ni(HS)2
c) Aluminum perchlorate
Al(ClO4)3
d) Barium dihydrogen phosphate
Ba(H2PO4)2
e) Iron (III) sulfite
Fe2(SO2)3
f) Cuprous bisulfate
CuHSO4
g) Zinc periodate
Zn(IO4)2
h) Lithium selenite
Li2SeO3
Hydrated Ionic Compounds
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
A HYDRATE is an salt that has water molecules
trapped within its crystals.
Every hydrate has a certain number of water
molecules associated with each formula unit of the
ionic compound. The number of water molecules is
indicated by using prefixes.
mono
di
tri
tetra
penta
hexa
hepta
octa
nona
deca
CuSO4 · 5 H2O
copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate
MgCO3 ·10 H2O
magnesium carbonate decahydrate
Examples of hydrates:


Write the formulas:
copper(II) fluoride tetrahydrate
CuF2 ·4 H2O
calcium nitrate trihydrate
Ca(NO3)2 ·3 H2O
Write the names:
MgSO4 · 7 H2O
magnesium sulfate heptahydrate
FeCl2 · H2O
iron (II) chloride monohydrate