A chemical compound is the substance that results from the combination of two or more linked chemical elements under a certain arrangement and in certain proportions. That is why there are countless chemical compounds; even combining just two or three kinds of atoms. Combining atoms of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, for example, forms compounds as diverse as sugar, the glycogen and the cellulose.
As there are so many chemical compounds, it is common to group them in some way to be able to study them. Some of the main groups of chemical compounds inorganic they are salts, oxides, acids; within the organic the protein, the carbohydrates, the nucleic acids and the fats.
The properties of chemical compounds are not the same as those of the elements that form them. Each compound has a chemical name (which responds to certain naming rules) and a formula, some compounds also acquire a fancy name, such as aspirin (which is acetyl salicylic acid). Fancy names are especially useful when the molecule is large and complex, as it becomes difficult to name it by describing it in chemical terms.
The chemical formula indicates which elements compose it and how many atoms of each one it contains. For this reason, the formulas have letters, which are the chemical symbols of the elements, and numbers after each symbol in subscript position, which indicate the number of atoms. In a given chemical compound all its molecules are the same.
The links that hold together atoms within a molecule can be covalent or ionic. The properties of a compound depend, in part, on the type of bond. Boiling and melting point, solubility, viscosity, and density, for example, are some of the main physical properties of chemical compounds.
There is also sometimes talk of biological properties of compounds, especially in the medical and pharmacological fields. Thus, some compounds have anti-inflammatory, others antipyretic, vasodilator, muscle relaxant, antibiotic, antifungal, etc. To know the properties of chemical compounds, many experiments and measurements have to be carried out.
Here is a list of examples of chemical compounds (by their chemical or fancy names)
- Saccharose
- Glycerol
- Sodium hypochlorite
- Silver nitrate
- Calcium carbonate
- Copper sulphate
- Potassium permanganate
- Nitric acid
- Nitroglycerine
- Insulin
- Phosphatidylcholine
- Acetic acid
- Folic acid
- Vitamin D
- Lysine
- Putrescin
- Potassium iodide
- Triple superphosphate
- Pentachlorophenol
- Hemoglobin
