Chemical compound
Encyclopedia : C : CH : CHE : Chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemically bonded chemical elements, with a fixed ratio determining the composition. The ratio of each element is usually expressed by chemical formula. For example, water (H2O) is a compound consisting of two hydrogen atoms bonded to every oxygen atom.
A compound can consist either of atoms covalently bonded together (ie molecules, such as water) or of ions bonded together by the attraction of their opposing charges (eg sodium chloride).
Compounds may have a number of possible phases. All compounds can exist as solids. Molecular compounds may also exist as liquids, gases or plasma. All compounds decompose to smaller compounds or individual atoms if heated to a certain temperature (called the decomposition temperature).
Every chemical compound that has been described in the literature carries a unique numerical identifier, its CAS number.
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