Glossary Names of Common Polyatomic Ions

Jump to Frequently Used Tables in CEE 350 go back to Frequently Used Tables in CEE 350 





 













	Common Forms
	Polyatomic
Ions		



	Acetate ion
	CH3COO-



	Ammonium ion
	NH4+



	Carbonate ion
	CO32-



	Chlorate ion
	ClO3-



	Chlorite ion
	ClO2-



	Chromate ion
	CrO42-



	Cyanide ion
	CN-



	Dichromate ion
	Cr2O72-



	Dihydrogen Phosphate
	H2PO4-



	Hydrogen Phosphate
	HPO42-



	Hydroxide ion
	OH-



	Nitrate ion
	NO3-



	Nitrite ion
	NO2-



	Perchlorate ion
	ClO4-



	Permanganate ion
	MnO4-



	Peroxide ion
	O22- 



	Phosphate ion
	PO43- 



	Phosphite ion
	PO33- 



	Sulfate ion
	SO42-



	Sulfite ion
	SO32-



















        
        Jump to Frequently Used Tables in CEE 350
        
        
        go back to Frequently Used Tables in CEE 350
        








Ionic compounds consist of cations (positive ions) 
and anions (negative ions). 
The nomenclature, or naming, of ionic compounds is based on the
names of the component ions. Here are the principal naming conventions
for ionic compounds, along with examples to show how they are used: 



 





a) [blah blah]-ide


	

	The -ide ending is added to the name of a 
	monoatomic ion of an element. For example;
	



H- is then Hydride

F- is then Fluoride

O2- is then Oxide

S2- is then Sulfide

N3- is then Nitride

P3- is then Phosphide
	
	
	





 





b) [blah blah]-ite 
	 and [blah blah]-ate


	

Some polyatomic anions (-) contain oxygen. 
These anions are called oxyanions. When an element 
forms two oxyanions, the one with less oxygen
is given a name ending in -ite and the one 
with more oxgyen is given a name that ends in -ate.
	For example;
	




NO2- is then Nitrite

NO3- is then Nitrate

SO32- is then Sulfite

SO42- is then Sulfate
        

        






 





c) [blah blah]-ous 
	 and [blah blah]-ic


	

	The endings -ous or -ic are added to the Latin name 
	of the element (e.g., stannous/stannic for
	tin) to represent the ions with lesser or greater 
	charge, respectively.
	For example;
	



Fe2+ is then Ferrous

Fe3+ is then Ferric

Cu+ is then Cuprous

Cu2+ is then Cupric
        

        






 





d) 
	hypo-[blah blah] 
	and per-[blah blah]



	

	In the case where there is a series of four oxyanions, 
	the hypo- and per- prefixes are used in conjunction with 
	the -ite and -ate suffixes.
	The hypo- and per- prefixes indicate less oxygen and more oxygen,
	respectively.
	For example;
	



ClO- is then Hypochlorite

ClO2- is then Chlorite

ClO3- is then Chlorate

ClO4- is then Perchlorate
	
	
	






 





e) 
	bi-[blah blah] and 
	di-hydrogen [blah blah]



	

Polyatomic anions sometimes gain one or more H+ ions 
to form anions of a lower charge. These ions are 
named by adding the word hydrogen or
dihydrogen in front of the name of the anion. 
It is still common to see and use the older naming 
convention in which the prefix bi- is used to
indicate the addition of a single hydrogen ion.
	For example;
	



HCO3- is then Hydrogen carbonate or bicarbonate

HSO4- is then Hydrogen sulfate or bisulfate

H2PO4- is then Dihydrogen phosphate
	
	
	













        
        Jump to Frequently Used Tables in CEE 350
        
        
        go back to Frequently Used Tables in CEE 350