What are Chemical Compounds?

When two or more elements chemically combine in a fixed ratio by mass, the resulting product is known as a compound. These compounds exhibit unique properties that are different from those of their constituent elements. In these chemical compounds, the atoms are held together with chemical bonds, which can be either ionic or covalent, depending on the type of compound. All the matter in the universe is composed of the atoms of more than 100 different chemical elements, which are found both in pure form and combined in chemical compounds.

• Chemical compounds can have a wide range of properties, including color, odor, melting point, boiling point, solubility, and reactivity.
• They can be found in various forms, including solids, liquids, and gases, and these play a crucial role in the day to day life.
• Chemical compounds follow the law of definite proportions, also known as the law of constant composition.
• This law states that a chemical compound always contains the same elements in the same proportion by mass, regardless of the source or method of preparation.

Example of Chemical Compound

Water is H₂O which shows two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen have combined to form one molecule of H₂O. This H₂O is a compound. To form water hydrogen and oxygen will always have to combine in 2:1.

Similarly, Common salt is NaCl, which shows one atom of sodium and one atom of chlorine combine to form one molecule of NaCl.

History of Chemical Compound

The collisional pressure eventually led a few helium atoms to share their electrons with protons. Thus, the first chemical bonds were formed. The new compound of helium and hydrogen was called Helium hydride or helonium (HeH⁺), the very first molecule (of any sustained abundance) in the universe.

The term “compound” with a meaning similar to the modern understanding has been used at least since 1661 when Robert Boyle’s book The Sceptical Chymist was published. In this book, Boyle variously used the terms “compound”, “compounded body”, “perfectly mixt body”, and “concrete”.

Chemical Compounds in chemistry are pure form of matter which are formed by combination of two or more elements in a fixed ratio. They are different from the mixture in which the constituent particles are combined in any ratio. For example, sugar solution is a mixture but water is a chemical compound. This is because in sugar solution water and sugar can combine in any ratio to form solution but to form water i.e. H2O, hydrogen and oxygen have to always combine in fix ratio i.e. 2:1.

In this article, we will learn in detail about what is chemical compounds, their example, types, bonding, some of commonly used chemical compound and how are they different from molecules and elements.