IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry
Overview
Systematic name
A systematic name is a name given in a systematic way to one unique group, organism, object or chemical substance, out of a specific population or collection...
method of naming organic chemical compound
Organic compound
An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...
s as recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations that represents chemists in individual countries. It is a member of the International Council for Science . The international headquarters of IUPAC is located in Zürich,...
(IUPAC). Ideally, every possible organic compound
Chemical compound
A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...
should have a name from which an unambiguous structural formula
Structural formula
The structural formula of a chemical compound is a graphical representation of the molecular structure, showing how the atoms are arranged. The chemical bonding within the molecule is also shown, either explicitly or implicitly...
can be drawn. There is also an IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry
IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry
The IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry is a systematic method of naming inorganic chemical compounds, as recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry . The rules are commonly known as "The Red Book"...
. See also phanes
Phanes (organic chemistry)
Phanes are sub-structures of highly complex organic molecules introduced for simplification of the naming of these highly complex molecules.Systematic nomenclature of organic chemistry consists of building a name for the structure of an organic compound by a collection of names of its composite...
nomenclature of highly complex cyclic molecules.
For ordinary communication, to spare a tedious description, the official IUPAC naming recommendations are not always followed in practice except when it is necessary to give a concise definition to a compound, or when the IUPAC name is simpler (e.g.
