An Introduction to Chemical Nomenclature PDF
Preview An Introduction to Chemical Nomenclature
AN INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL NOMENCLATURE AN INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL NOMENCLATURE THIRD EDITION R. S. CAHN M.A., Dr. Phil. nat., F.R.I.C. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC CD Springer Science+Business Media New York 1968 Originally published by Butterworth & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. in 1968. Suggested U.D.C. Number 001·4:54 Suggested Additional Number 003·62:54 Library of Congress Catalog Number 68-56903 Made and printed in (heat Britain bJ1 William Olowu llfld SOM, Lito&u.d. London and Beccle1 ISBN 978-1-4899-6275-1 ISBN 978-1-4899-6598-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-6598-1 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 3rd edition 1968 CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION TO THIRD EDITION vii INTRODUCTION TO FmST EDITION i:x 1. THE USE AND MISUSE OF NOMENCLATURE 1 2. INORGANIC 4 3. ORGANIC: GENERAL • 33 4. ORGANIC: THE PRINCIPAL GROUP 48 5. ORGANIC: NUMBERING 54 6. ORGANIC: BUILDING A NAME 59 7. ORGANIC: SKELETAL TYPES 66 8. ORGANIC: SOME SPECIAL CASES • 79 9. AMERICAN CHEMICAL NOMENCLATURE 91 10. PHYSICOCHEMICAL SYMBOLS 95 . 11. EXERCISES 100 . INDEX 113 v Introduction to Third Edition With the need for reprinting or revision of this Intro duction to Chemical Nomenclature, the opportunity has been taken to bring it up to date. Since the first edition eight years ago, IUP. AC Nomenclature Commissions have been busy; the IUP. AC rules for inorganic chemistry have, on the whole, stood up well to the test of general use but some few revisions have become advisable and some simplifications have proved ppssible; their effect is fairly far-reaching and where they affect the matter in this book the text has been revised. The IUP. AC rules for organic chemistry have been extended by a very large number of "definitive" rules to cover nomenclature of functions. Their effect on the principles of previous organic nomenclature has, however, been relatively slight and, since this Intro duction is confined to principles, the changes in its organic section are relatively few. The opportunity has, however, been taken occasionally to modify the exposition where clarification seemed possible. Much further work by IUP. AC Commissions has so far reached only the "tentative" or draft stage. I considered it premature to include such recommenda tions in the present account, as they are still liable to change in the near future . .A short chapter has been added noting the main differences between English and .American nomencla ture. It is good to find that these are diminishing. Once again I am much indebted to Professor K . .A. vii INTRODUCTION TO THIRD .EDITION Jensen for help in regard to the inorganic nomencla ture, and to Dr L. 0. Oross for advice on recent policy at The Ohemical Society; as before, however, errors must be laid only to my account. R. S. OAHN December 1967 viii Introduction to First Edition In this book I have tried to describe for chemists the principles of chemical nomenclature, particularly of modern systematic nomenclature. It is certainly not a complete textbook of nomenclature, for which the time is not yet ripe. In concentrating on principles I have limited the examples to those needed for illus tration; and since nomenclature is not a subject that one normally sits down to learn systematically, whilst readers, being chemists, will know much al ready, I have referred whenever' it was convenient to chemical matters that didactically should perhaps come later. I have also felt it right, in an "Introduc tion", to limit specialist points to references. Brevity has, however, not intentionally been achieved by merely omitting the harder points: I have tried always to mention any further complexities and to say where they are discussed. Inorganic and organic chemistry have been treated differently, the former much more fully (though in less space). The 1967 IUPAO report on inorganic nomenclature sets in parts a new pattern which is likely to remain serviceable and to guide future de velopments for some time ahead; the subject can be reported in an orderly way; and the innovations require rather detailed exposition, the more so as the resulting names will not always agree with those in textbooks. No such major change occurs in the post war IUPAO organic rules: here, however, we find a much wider field and varying methods side by side, and the main problem for the ordinary chemist is to differentiate the principles and to decide what method to use on what occasion. The full textbook to replace ix INTRODUCTION TO FIRST EDITION Dr A.. D. Mitchell's British Chemical Nomenclature and the Introductions to Chemical .Abstracts indexes should wait until the work by IUPA .C on functional groups has progressed further. The nomenclature I have recorded is, to the best of my ability, that accepted by The Chemical Society. These have been set out in detail in the "Handbook for Chemical Society Authors" (Special Publication No. 14, The Chemical Society, Burlington House, London, W.l), which should be consulted also with respect to a large number of the Society's decisions on nomenclature. I have not mentioned the changes necessary in foreign languages: but I have discussed the main differences from American practice, as these should be familiar to all who read American textbooks or Chemical .Abstracts. I am indebted to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and to Messrs Butterworths for permission to quote from the international reports; to Professor K. A.. Jensen of Copenhagen for a copy of the latest IUPA .C Report on Inorganic Chemical Nomenclature before its publication; to my colleagues on various IUPA .C Nomenclature Commissions for long and, to me, most profitable arguments; and above all to my colleagues at The Chemical Society, Drs L. C. Cross, A.. D. Mitchell, and A.. E. Somerfield, for innumerable discussions. R. S. CAHN June 1959 X 1 THE USE AND MISUSE OF NOMENCLATURE Nomenclature is the tool by which chemists describe their compounds to one another. Like other tools it can be used in several ways and it can be misused. Chemists need to describe compounds for various purposes. According to the occasion, a scribbled structural formula, "That substance", or "compound (II)" is sometimes the most suitable designation. The computer memory, which stores structures rather than names, will increasingly take over some of the func tions of a list of names. But lists will continue, for trade and abstracts indexes and lexicons, and they will require descriptive names; and, of course, names are essential, too, for many research papers or reports, for textbooks, and for most chemical conversation. The nomenclature that is regarded as "correct" follows from the consensus of users' opinions. It is written in rule form by the Commissions of the Inter national Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, who try to see nomenclature as a whole, codifying existing practice and occasionally suggesting novelties; they accept the useful practices of specialists within their own fields but reject what they consider to be un necessary aberrations from general principles. It would be simpler if thene were only one "correct" name for a substance. In practice, particularly in organic chemistry, this is not so. There are two reasons. First, large compilations such as Beilstein's Handbuch and OhemicaZ Abstracts often use differing principles, and fundamental changes would bring 1
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