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Course Pages
Chemistry 130
Library Resources for Identifying Unknowns |
Nomenclature Resources |
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Related Links
Nomenclature Resources
Searching by chemical name in handbooks and other reference resources can be tricky. Some
resources put the name in unpermuted while others may permute a name, listing the parent
substituent name first. In some resources, you must include the numbered positions of a
substitutent (e.g. Beilstein Crossfire)
while in other resources you leave the numbers out (e.g.
Properties of Organic Compounds (POC)
and The Combined Chemical Dictionary).
All synonyms may not be included in a reference source and it is difficult to tell which
name is the IUPAC name. When searching then, it is important to be persistent and
systematically try all permutations of a name. In most electronic handbooks, it is
possible to browse the name index to make sure you are searching a term that exists
in the database. Below are three common situations along with resources you can use:
You know one name for compound but need synomyns
You know structure and need IUPAC name
Search structure in
Beilstein Crossfire.
Identification information at top of each record includes the
Autonom name which is the IUPAC name for that compound.
You have a name but do not know what the structure looks like
Search by chemical name in the
The Combined Chemical Dictionary,
Properties of Organic Compounds,
the
Merck Index,
or
Beilstein Crossfire.
Consult
CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics,
see pages preceding Table on Organic Compounds that is titled "Radicals
and Rings Systems". The CRC Handbook is located in the reference room
and is on reserve in the Swain Library. It is also available via the web in
CHEMnetBase.
Consult the Organic Chemist's Desk Reference, Chapter 8,
"Glossary of Terms Used in Describing Organic Structures," pgs.
42-105, which is on reserve in the Swain Library.
Consult Names, Synonyms, and Structures of Organic Compounds: A CRC
Reference Handbook which is on reserve in the Swain Library.
