Periodic Table of Elements

Binary Compounds

A binary compound is a chemical compound that contains exactly two different elements.

3 types of binary compounds:

  • Binary ionic compounds
  • Binary covalent compounds
  • Binary acids

  • Binary ionic compounds:

    • A binary ionic compound contains 2 different elements. It contains a metal or a polyatomic ion.
    In a binary compound, the first name will be a metal ion. The second name will be a nonmetal ion as -ide.
    Examples:

    Binary ionic compounds:
    sodium chloride: NaCl
    zinc iodide: ZnI2
    sodium fluoride: NaF
    magnesium oxide: MgO
    aluminum oxide: Al2O3
    calcium chloride: CaCl2

  • Binary covalent compounds:

    • A binary ionic compound contains 2 nonmetals.
    Naming a binary compound: each element will be named, last element will be ended as -ide.
    Prefixes will be addedto show more than 1 atom.

    Prefixes:
    mon - 1
    di - 2
    tri - 3
    tetra - 4
    penta - 5
    hexa - 6
    Examples:
    Binary covelent compounds:
    carbon monoxide: CO
    carbon dioxide: CO2
    phosphorus trichlorideide: PCl3
    carbon tetrachloride: CCl4
    dinitrogen monoxide: N2O
    water: H2O
    sulfur hexafluoride: SF6

  • Binary acids:

    • A binary acid will include a hydrogen atom attached to another atom.
    The naming convention for binary acid is: “Hydro-” + Nonmetal + “-ic” + “acid”.
    If the acid is in a gaseous form or an anhydrous form, the "-ic" is replaced by "-ide" and the "acid" suffix is removed.
    These type of compounds are somtimes called as hydracids.
    Examples:

    Binary acids:
    hydrochloric acid: HCl
    hydrogen sulphide: H2s