Inorganic chemistry of carbon - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Scientists once thought that organic compounds are or could only be created by living organisms. Over time, human have learned how to synthesize organic compounds. There is an immense number of distinct compounds that contain carbon

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

atoms. Some sources suggest that there are about ten million known compounds. However, it is possible that the number is greater.

Organic compounds

Every organic 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...

contains at least one atom of carbon. The number of these compounds is immense and the described number of defined compounds is close to 10 million. However, an indefinitely larger number of such compounds are theoretically possible.
The distinction between organic and inorganic compounds is only a matter of convention, and there are several compounds that have been classified either way, such as:
COCl₂

Phosgene

Phosgene is the chemical compound with the formula COCl2. This colorless gas gained infamy as a chemical weapon during World War I. It is also a valued industrial reagent and building block in synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other organic compounds. In low concentrations, its odor resembles...

,
CSCl₂

Thiophosgene

Thiophosgene is a red liquid with the formula CSCl2. It is a molecule with trigonal planar geometry. There are two reactive C–Cl bonds that allow it to be used in diverse organic syntheses.-Synthesis of CSCl2:...

,
CS(NH₂)₂

Thiourea

Thiourea is an organosulfur compound of with the formula SC2 . It is structurally similar to urea, except that the oxygen atom is replaced by a sulfur atom, but the properties of urea and thiourea differ significantly. Thiourea is a reagent in organic synthesis. "Thioureas" refers to a broad...

,
CO(NH₂)₂

Urea

Urea or carbamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula CO2. The molecule has two —NH2 groups joined by a carbonyl functional group....

Inorganic compounds

There is a rich variety of carbon

Carbon

chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

that does not fall within the realm of organic chemistry

Organic chemistry

Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...

and is thus called inorganic carbon chemistry.

Compounds with other nonmetals

There are many oxide

Oxide

An oxide is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom in its chemical formula. Metal oxides typically contain an anion of oxygen in the oxidation state of −2....

s of carbon (oxocarbon

Oxocarbon

An oxocarbon or oxide of carbon is an inorganic compound consisting only of carbon and oxygen.The simplest and most common oxocarbons are carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide...

s), of which the most common are carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

(CO₂) and carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...

(CO). Other less known oxides include carbon suboxide

Carbon suboxide

Carbon suboxide, or tricarbon dioxide, is an oxide of carbon with chemical formula C3O2 or O=C=C=C=O. Its four cumulative double bonds make it a cumulene...

(C₃O₂) and mellitic anhydride

Mellitic anhydride

Mellitic anhydride, anhydride of mellitic acid, is organic compound with formula C12O9.Mellitic anhydride is oxide of carbon , like CO2, CO, and C3O2. It is white sublimable solid, apparently obtained by Liebig and Wöhler in 1830 in their study of mellite , who assigned it the formula C4O3. The...

(C₁₂O₉). There are also numerous unstable or elusive oxides, such as dicarbon monoxide

Dicarbon monoxide

Dicarbon monoxide is an extremely reactive molecule that contains two carbon atoms and one oxygen atom. Dicarbon monoxide, covalently bonded, is a product of the photolysis of carbon suboxide. It is closely related to CO, CO2 and C3O2, and other oxocarbons.It is stable enough to observe reactions...

(C₂O), oxalic anhydride

Oxalic anhydride

Oxalic anhydride or ethanedioic anhydride, also called oxiranedione, is a hypothetical organic compound with the formula C2O3, which can be viewed as the anhydride of oxalic acid or the two-fold ketone of ethylene oxide. It is an oxide of carbon .The simple compound apparently has yet to be...

(C₂O₄), and carbon trioxide

Carbon trioxide

Carbon trioxide is an unstable oxide of carbon . Three possible isomers of carbon trioxide, denoted Cs, D3h, and C2v, have been most studied by theoretical methods, and the C2v state has been shown to be the ground state of the molecule.Carbon trioxide should not be confused with the stable...

(CO₃).

Other compounds of carbon with nonmetals include:

Carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide is a colorless volatile liquid with the formula CS2. The compound is used frequently as a building block in organic chemistry as well as an industrial and chemical non-polar solvent...

(CS₂) and carbonyl sulfide
Carbonyl sulfide
Carbonyl sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula OCS. Commonly written as COS, it is a colourless flammable gas with an unpleasant odor. It is a linear molecule consisting of a carbonyl group double bonded to a sulfur atom...

(COS)
Beta carbon nitride
Beta carbon nitride
Beta carbon nitride is a material predicted to be harder than diamond.The material was first proposed in 1985 by Marvin Cohen and Amy Liu. Examining the nature of crystalline bonds they theorised that carbon and nitrogen atoms could form a particularly short and strong bond in a stable crystal...

(β-C₃N₄),
Carbon tetrafluoride (CF₄), carbon tetrachloride
Carbon tetrachloride
Carbon tetrachloride, also known by many other names is the organic compound with the formula CCl4. It was formerly widely used in fire extinguishers, as a precursor to refrigerants, and as a cleaning agent...

(CCl₄), carbon tetrabromide (CBr₄), carbon tetraiodide
Carbon tetraiodide
Carbon tetraiodide is CI4, a tetrahalomethane. Being bright red, it is a relatively rare example of a highly colored methane derivative. It is only 2% by weight carbon, although other methane derivatives are known with still less carbon....

(CI₄), and an endless list of other carbon-halogen
Halogen
The halogens or halogen elements are a series of nonmetal elements from Group 17 IUPAC Style of the periodic table, comprising fluorine , chlorine , bromine , iodine , and astatine...

compounds.
Carbonyl fluoride
Carbonyl fluoride
Carbonyl fluoride is the chemical compound with the formula COF2. This gas, like its analog phosgene, is highly toxic. The molecule is planar with C2v symmetry.-Safety:...

(COF₂)
Carborane
Carborane
A carborane is a cluster composed of boron and carbon atoms. Like many of the related boranes, these clusters are polyhedra and are similarly classified as closo-, nido-, arachno-, hypho-, etc...

s such as H₂C₂B₁₀H₁₀.

Salts with oxocarbon anions

There are several oxocarbon anion

Oxocarbon anion

In chemistry, an oxocarbon anion is a negative ion consisting solely of carbon and oxygen atoms, and therefore having the general formula CxOyn− for some integers x, y, and n....

s, negative ions that consist solely of oxygen and carbon. The most common are the carbonate

Carbonate

In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....

(CO₃²⁻) and oxalate

Oxalate

Oxalate , is the dianion with formula C2O42− also written 22−. Either name is often used for derivatives, such as disodium oxalate, 2C2O42−, or an ester of oxalic acid Oxalate (IUPAC: ethanedioate), is the dianion with formula C2O42− also written (COO)22−. Either...

(C₂O₄²⁻). The corresponding acids are the highly unstable carbonic acid

Carbonic acid

Carbonic acid is the inorganic compound with the formula H2CO3 . It is also a name sometimes given to solutions of carbon dioxide in water, because such solutions contain small amounts of H2CO3. Carbonic acid forms two kinds of salts, the carbonates and the bicarbonates...

(H₂CO₃) and the quite stable oxalic acid

Oxalic acid

Oxalic acid is an organic compound with the formula H2C2O4. This colourless solid is a dicarboxylic acid. In terms of acid strength, it is about 3,000 times stronger than acetic acid. Oxalic acid is a reducing agent and its conjugate base, known as oxalate , is a chelating agent for metal cations...

(H₂C₂O₄), respectively. These anions can be partially deprotonated to give the bicarbonate

Bicarbonate

In inorganic chemistry, bicarbonate is an intermediate form in the deprotonation of carbonic acid...

(HCO₃⁻) and hydrogenoxalate

Hydrogenoxalate

Hydrogenoxalate or hydrogen oxalate is an anion with chemical formula HC2O4− or HO2C–CO2−, derived from oxalic acid by the loss of a single proton; or, alternatively, from the oxalate anion C2O42− by addition of a proton....

(HC₂O₄⁻). Other more exotic carbon–oxygen anions exist, such as acetylenedicarboxylate

Acetylenedicarboxylic acid

Acetylenedicarboxylic acid or butynedioic acid is an organic compound with the formula C4H2O4 or HO2C-C≡C-CO2H. It is a crystalline solid that is soluble in diethyl ether....

(O₂C–C≡C–CO₂²⁻), mellitate

Mellitic acid

Mellitic acid, also called graphitic acid or benzenehexacarboxylic acid, is an acid first discovered in 1799 by M. H. Klaproth in the mineral mellite , which is the aluminium salt of the acid.- Preparation :...

(C₁₂O₉⁶⁻), squarate

Squaric acid

Squaric acid, also called quadratic acid, because its four carbon atoms approximately form a square, is an organic compound with chemical formula 424....

(C₄O₄²⁻), and rhodizonate

Rhodizonic acid

Rhodizonic acid is a chemical compound with formula C6H2O6 or 42. It can be seen as a two-fold alcohol and four-fold ketone of cyclohexene, more precisely 5,6-dihydroxycyclohex-5-ene-1,2,3,4-tetrone....

(C₆O₆²⁻). The anhydrides of some of these acids are oxides of carbon; carbon dioxide, for instance, can be seen as the anhydride of carbonic acid.

Some important carbonates are
Ag₂CO₃

Silver carbonate

Silver carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula Ag2CO3. Silver carbonate is yellow but typical samples are grayish due to the presence of elemental silver. It is poorly soluble in water, like most transition metal carbonates. Silver carbonate is used as a reagent in organic synthesis...

,
BaCO₃

Barium carbonate

Barium carbonate , also known as witherite, is a chemical compound used in rat poison, bricks, ceramic glazes and cement.Witherite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system...

,
CaCO₃

Calcium carbonate

Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, coal balls, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime,...

,
CdCO₃,
Ce₂(CO₃)₃,
CoCO₃,
Cs₂CO₃

Caesium carbonate

Caesium carbonate is a white crystalline solid of formula Cs2CO3. It is more soluble in organic solvents than many other carbonates such as potassium carbonate, and therefore finds use as a base in organic chemistry....

,
CuCO₃

Copper(II) carbonate

Copper carbonate is a blue-green compound forming part of the verdigris patina that is found on weathered brass, bronze, and copper. The colour can vary from bright blue to green, because there may be a mixture of both copper carbonate and basic copper carbonate in various stages of hydration...

,
FeCO₃,
K₂CO₃

Potassium carbonate

Potassium carbonate is a white salt, soluble in water , which forms a strongly alkaline solution. It can be made as the product of potassium hydroxide's absorbent reaction with carbon dioxide. It is deliquescent, often appearing a damp or wet solid...

,
La₂(CO₃)₃

Lanthanum carbonate

Lanthanum carbonate, La23, is the salt formed by lanthanum cations and carbonate anions. It is an ore of lanthanum metal, along with monazite.- Chemistry :...

,
Li₂CO₃

Lithium carbonate

Lithium carbonate is a chemical compound of lithium, carbon, and oxygen with the formula Li2CO3. This colorless salt is widely used in the processing of metal oxides and has received attention for its use in psychiatry. It is found in nature as the rare mineral zabuyelite.-Properties:Like almost...

,
MgCO₃

Magnesium carbonate

Magnesium carbonate, MgCO3, is a white solid that occurs in nature as a mineral. Several hydrated and basic forms of magnesium carbonate also exist as minerals...

,
MnCO₃

Manganese(II) carbonate

Manganese carbonate is a compound with the chemical formula MnCO3. Manganese carbonate occurs naturally as the mineral rhodochrosite. Approximately 20,000 metric tonnes were produced in 2005.-Production and uses:...

,
(NH₄)₂CO₃

Ammonium carbonate

Ammonium carbonate is a commercial salt with the chemical formula 2CO3. It is used when crushed as a smelling salt. It can be crushed when needed in order to revive someone who has fainted...

,
Na₂CO₃

Sodium carbonate

Sodium carbonate , Na2CO3 is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. It most commonly occurs as a crystalline heptahydrate, which readily effloresces to form a white powder, the monohydrate. Sodium carbonate is domestically well-known for its everyday use as a water softener. It can be extracted from the...

,
NiCO₃

Nickel(II) carbonate

Nickel carbonate describes one or a mixture of inorganic compounds containing nickel and carbonate. From the industrial perspective, the most important nickel carbonate is basic nickel carbonate with the formula Ni4CO364. Simpler carbonates, ones more likely encountered in the laboratory, are NiCO3...

,
PbCO₃,
SrCO₃

Strontium carbonate

Strontium carbonate is the carbonate salt of strontium that has the appearance of a white or grey powder. It occurs in nature as the mineral strontianite.- Chemical properties :...

, and
ZnCO₃.

The most important bicarbonates include
NH₄HCO₃

Ammonium bicarbonate

Ammonium bicarbonate, a compound with formulaNH4, also called bicarbonate of ammonia, ammonium hydrogen carbonate, hartshorn, AmBic or powdered baking ammonia, is the bicarbonate salt of ammonia....

,
Ca(HCO₃)₃

Calcium bicarbonate

Calcium bicarbonate , also called calcium hydrogencarbonate, does not refer to a known solid compound; it exists only in aqueous solution containing the calcium , bicarbonate , and carbonate ions, together with dissolved carbon dioxide...

,
KHCO₃

Potassium bicarbonate

Potassium bicarbonate , is a colorless, odorless, slightly basic, salty substance...

, and
NaHCO₃

Sodium bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula Na HCO3. Sodium bicarbonate is a white solid that is crystalline but often appears as a fine powder. It has a slightly salty, alkaline taste resembling that of washing soda . The natural mineral form is...

.

The most important oxalates include
Ag₂C₂O₄

Silver oxalate

Silver oxalate is commonly employed in experimental petrology to add carbon dioxide to experiments as it will break down to silver and the carbon dioxide under geologic conditions.It is explosive upon heating, shock or friction.-External links:* *...

,
BaC₂O₄

Barium oxalate

Barium oxalate, a barium salt of oxalic acid, is a white odorless powder sometimes used as a green pyrotechnic colorant generally in specialized pyrotechnic compositions containing magnesium.Though largely stable, it can be reactive with strong acids...

,
CaC₂O₄

Calcium oxalate

Calcium oxalate is a chemical compound that forms needle-shaped crystals, known in plants as raphides. A major constituent of human kidney stones, the chemical is also found in beerstone, a scale that forms on containers used in breweries...

,
Ce₂(C₂O₄)₃

Cerium oxalate

Cerium oxalate is the inorganic cerium salt of oxalic acid. It is a white crystalline solid with the chemical formula of Ce23. It may be formed by the reaction of oxalic acid and cerium oxide.Cerium oxalate is used as an antiemetic....

,
K₂C₂O₄, and
Na₂C₂O₄

Disodium oxalate

Disodium oxalate, often called simply sodium oxalate, is a sodium salt of oxalic acid with the molecular formula Na2C2O4. It is usually a white, crystalline, odorless powder, that decomposes at 250–270 °C....

Carbonyls

Carbonyl

In organic chemistry, a carbonyl group is a functional group composed of a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom: C=O. It is common to several classes of organic compounds, as part of many larger functional groups....

s are coordination complexes between transition metals and carbonyl

Carbonyl

ligands. Metal carbonyl

Metal carbonyl

Metal carbonyls are coordination complexes of transition metals with carbon monoxide ligands. These complexes may be homoleptic, that is containing only CO ligands, such as nickel carbonyl , but more commonly metal carbonyls contain a mix of ligands, such as Re3Cl...

s are complexes that are formed with the neutral ligand CO. These complexes are covalent. Here is a list of some carbonyls:
Cr(CO)₆

Chromium carbonyl

Chromium carbonyl, also known as chromium hexacarbonyl, is the chemical compound with the formula Cr6. At room temperature the solid is stable to air, although it does have a high vapor pressure and sublimes readily. Cr6 is zerovalent, meaning that Cr has a formal charge of zero, and it is called...

,
Co₂(CO)₈,
Fe(CO)₅

Iron pentacarbonyl

Iron pentacarbonyl, also known as iron carbonyl, is the compound with formula 5. Under standard conditions Fe5 is a free-flowing, straw-colored liquid with a pungent odour. This compound is a common precursor to diverse iron compounds, including many that are useful in organic synthesis. Fe5 is...

,
Mn₂(CO)₁₀,
Mo(CO)₆,
Ni(CO)₄

Nickel carbonyl

Nickel carbonyl is the organonickel compound with the formula Ni4. This pale-yellow liquid is the principal carbonyl of nickel. It is an intermediate in the Mond process for the purification of nickel and a reagent in organometallic chemistry...

,
W(CO)₆.

Compounds containing the CN group

Other types of inorganic compounds include inorganic salt

Salt

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

s and complexes

Complex (chemistry)

In chemistry, a coordination complex or metal complex, is an atom or ion , bonded to a surrounding array of molecules or anions, that are in turn known as ligands or complexing agents...

of the carbon-containing polyatomic ion

Polyatomic ion

A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a charged species composed of two or more atoms covalently bonded or of a metal complex that can be considered as acting as a single unit in the context of acid and base chemistry or in the formation of salts. The prefix "poly-" means "many," in...

s cyanide

Cyanide

A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....

, isocyanide

Isocyanide

An isocyanide is an organic compound with the functional group -N≡C. It is the isomer of the related cyanide , hence the prefix iso....

, cyanate

Cyanate

The cyanate ion is an anion with the chemical formula written as [OCN]− or [NCO]−. In aqueous solution it acts as a base, forming isocyanic acid, HNCO. The cyanate ion is an ambidentate ligand, forming complexes with a metal ion in which either the nitrogen or oxygen atom may be the electron-pair...

, thiocyanate

Thiocyanate

Thiocyanate is the anion [SCN]−. It is the conjugate base of thiocyanic acid. Common derivatives include the colourless salts potassium thiocyanate and sodium thiocyanate. Organic compounds containing the functional group SCN are also called thiocyanates...

.

NH₄SCN

Ammonium thiocyanate

Ammonium thiocyanate is an inorganic compound with the formula NH4SCN. It is the salt of the ammonium cation and the thiocyanate anion.-Uses:...

,
CaNCN

Calcium cyanamide

Calcium cyanamide or CaCN2 is a calcium compound used as fertilizer, first synthesized in 1898 by Adolph Frank and Nikodem Caro . It is formed when calcium carbide reacts with nitrogen. It is commercially known as Nitrolime....

,
Co(SCN)₂,
CuCN

Copper(I) cyanide

Copper cyanide in an inorganic compound with the formula CuCN. This off-white solid occurs in two polymorphs; impure samples can be green due to the presence of Cu impurities. The compound is useful as a catalyst, in electroplating copper, and as a reagent in the preparation of...

,
(HCNO)_x

Cyamelide

Cyamelide is an amorphous white solid x and is the polymerisation product of cyanic acid together with its cyclic trimer cyanuric acid. It is a porcelain-like white substance which is absolutely insoluble in water....

NH₂CN

Cyanamide

Cyanamide is an organic compound with the formula CN2H2. This white solid is widely used in agriculture and the production of pharmaceuticals and other organic compounds. It is also used as an alcohol deterrent drug in Canada, Europe and Japan. The molecule features a nitrile group attached to an...

HCNO,
(CN)₂

Cyanogen

Cyanogen is the chemical compound with the formula 2. It is a colorless, toxic gas with a pungent odor.The molecule is a pseudohalogen. Cyanogen molecules consist of two CN groups — analogous to diatomic halogen molecules, such as Cl2, but far less oxidizing...

,
BrCN

Cyanogen bromide

Cyanogen bromide is a pseudohalogen compound with the formula CNBr. It is a colorless solid that is widely used to modify biopolymers, fragment proteins and peptides, and synthesize other compounds.-Synthesis, basic properties, and structure:...

,
ClCN

Cyanogen chloride

Cyanogen chloride is an inorganic compound with the formula NCCl. This linear, triatomic pseudohalogen is an easily condensed colorless gas. More commonly encountered in the laboratory is the related compound cyanogen bromide, a room-temperature solid that is widely used in biochemical analysis and...

,
HCN,
KOCN

Potassium cyanate

Potassium cyanate is an inorganic compound with the formula KOCN . It is a colourless solid. It is used to prepare many other compounds including useful herbicide. Worldwide production of the potassium and sodium salts was 20,000 tons in 2006.-Structure and bonding:Cyanate is isoelectronic with...

,
KCN

Potassium cyanide

Potassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...

,
K₃Fe(CN)₆

Potassium ferricyanide

Potassium ferricyanide is the chemical compound with the formula K3[Fe6]. This bright red salt contains the octahedrally coordinated [Fe6]3− ion. It is soluble in water and its solution shows some green-yellow fluorescence.-Preparation:...

,
K₄Fe(CN)₆

Potassium ferrocyanide

Potassium ferrocyanide is the inorganic compound with formula K4[Fe6]•3H2O. It is the potassium salt of the coordination complex [Fe6]4-. This salt forms lemon-yellow monoclinic crystals.-Synthesis:...

,
KSCN

Potassium thiocyanate

Potassium thiocyanate is the chemical compound with the molecular formula KSCN. It is an important salt of the thiocyanate anion, one of the pseudohalides...

,
Fe₄(Fe(CN)₆)₃

Prussian blue

Prussian blue is a dark blue pigment with the idealized formula Fe718. Another name for the color Prussian blue is Berlin blue or, in painting, Parisian blue. Turnbull's blue is the same substance but is made from different reagents....

,
AgCN

Silver cyanide

Silver cyanide is the chemical compound with the formula AgCN. This white solid forms upon treatment of solutions containing Ag+ with cyanide. This precipitation step is used in some schemes to recover silver from solution...

,
NaOCN,
NaCN

Sodium cyanide

Sodium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCN. This highly toxic colorless salt is used mainly in gold mining but has other niche applications...

,
Na₃Fe(CN)₅NO

Sodium nitroprusside

Sodium nitroprusside is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2[Fe5NO]·2H2O. This red-coloured salt, which is often abbreviated SNP, is a potent vasodilator...

,
NaSCN

Sodium thiocyanate

Sodium thiocyanate is the chemical compound with the formula NaSCN. This colorless deliquescent salt is one of the main sources of the thiocyanate anion. As such, it is used as a precursor for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other specialty chemicals...

,
(SCN)₂

Thiocyanogen

Thiocyanogen, 2, is a pseudohalogen derived from the pseudohalide thiocyanate, [SCN]−. This hexatomic compound exhibits C2 point group symmetry and has the connectivity NCS-SCN. The oxidation ability is greater than bromine...

Carbides

Carbide

In chemistry, a carbide is a compound composed of carbon and a less electronegative element. Carbides can be generally classified by chemical bonding type as follows: salt-like, covalent compounds, interstitial compounds, and "intermediate" transition metal carbides...

s are binary compounds of carbon with an element that is less electronegative than it. The most important are
Al₄C₃
B₄C

Boron carbide

Boron carbide is an extremely hard boron–carbon ceramic material used in tank armor, bulletproof vests, and numerous industrial applications...

,
CaC₂

Calcium carbide

thumb|right|Calcium carbide.Calcium carbide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula of CaC2. The pure material is colorless, however pieces of technical grade calcium carbide are grey or brown and consist of only 80-85% of CaC2 . Because of presence of PH3, NH3, and H2S it has a...

,
Fe₃C,
HfC

Hafnium(IV) carbide

Hafnium carbide is a chemical compound of hafnium and carbon. With a melting point of about 3900 °C it is one of the most refractory binary compounds known. However, it has a low oxidation resistance, with the oxidation starting at temperatures as low as 430 °C.Hafnium carbide is usually carbon...

,
SiC

Silicon carbide

Silicon carbide , also known as carborundum, is a compound of silicon and carbon with chemical formula SiC. It occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite. Silicon carbide powder has been mass-produced since 1893 for use as an abrasive...

,
TaC

Tantalum carbide

Tantalum carbides form a family of binary chemical compounds of tantalum and carbon with the empirical formula TaCx, where x usually varies between 0.4 and 1. They are extremely hard, brittle, refractory ceramic materials with metallic electrical conductivity. They appear as brown-gray powders...

,
TiC

Titanium carbide

Titanium carbide, TiC, is an extremely hard refractory ceramic material, similar to tungsten carbide.It is commercially used in tool bits. It has the appearance of black powder with NaCl-type face centered cubic crystal structure...

, and
WC

Tungsten carbide

Tungsten carbide is an inorganic chemical compound containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. Colloquially, tungsten carbide is often simply called carbide. In its most basic form, it is a fine gray powder, but it can be pressed and formed into shapes for use in industrial machinery,...

Other

The known inorganic chemistry of the allotrope

Allotropy

Allotropy or allotropism is the property of some chemical elements to exist in two or more different forms, known as allotropes of these elements...

s of carbon (diamond

Diamond

In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...

, graphite

Graphite

The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...

, and the fullerene

Fullerene

A fullerene is any molecule composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube. Spherical fullerenes are also called buckyballs, and they resemble the balls used in association football. Cylindrical ones are called carbon nanotubes or buckytubes...

s) blossomed with the discovery of buckminsterfullerene in 1985, as additional fullerenes and their various derivatives were discovered. One such class of derivatives is inclusion compounds, in which an ion is enclosed by the all-carbon shell of the fullerene. This inclusion is denoted by the "@" symbol. For example, an ion consisting of a lithium ion trapped within buckminsterfullerene would be denoted Li⁺@C₆₀. As
with any other ionic compound, this complex ion could in principle pair with a counterion

Counterion

A counterion is the ion that accompanies an ionic species in order to maintain electric neutrality. In table salt the sodium cation is the counterion for the chlorine anion and vice versa.In a charged transition metal complex, a simple A counterion is the ion that accompanies an ionic species in...

to form a salt.

Alloys

There are several alloys that contain carbon of which the best known alloy

Alloy

An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...

is carbon steel (see :category:steels)). Besides steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

, other alloys based on iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

and carbon

Carbon

are: anthracite iron

Anthracite iron

Anthracite iron is the substance created by the smelting together of anthracite coal and iron ore.-Development of the process:Research into the smelting of iron using anthracite coal began in the 1820s...

, cast iron

Cast iron

Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...

, pig iron

Pig iron

Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...

, wrought iron

Wrought iron

thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...

, but also spiegeleisen

Spiegeleisen

Spiegeleisen is a ferromanganese alloy containing approximately 15% manganese and small quantities of carbon and silicon. Historically, this was the standard form in which manganese was traded and used in steel making...

(which contains also manganese

Manganese

Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...

). Stellite

Stellite

Stellite alloy is a range of cobalt-chromium alloys designed for wear resistance. It may also contain tungsten or molybdenum and a small but important amount of carbon...

is an alloy of carbon with cobalt

Cobalt

Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....

, chromium

Chromium

Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...

and tungsten

Tungsten

Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

. To some degree, these alloys could be considered carbide

Carbide

Formation of carbon compounds

In organic chemistry there are 3 important elements: Carbon, Oxygen and Hydrogen. Each of these elements have different kinds of bonds. Carbon atom has tetravalent bonds, Oxygen atoms divalent bonds and Hydrogen monovalent bonds.

Organic compounds

Inorganic compounds

Compounds with other nonmetals

Salts with oxocarbon anions

Carbonyls

Compounds containing the CN group

Carbides

Other

Alloys

Formation of carbon compounds

See also