My watch list

Common chemicals

Chemistry Portal

Additional recommended knowledge

How to quickly check pipettes?

Better weighing performance in 6 easy steps

What is the Sensitivity of my Balance?

Table of Common Chemical Ingredients and Where to Find Them

Chemical Name	Chemical Formula	Common Name	Where to Buy	Specific Brand or Product
Acetic Acid
	CH₃COOH + H₂O	5% Solution: White Vinegar	Grocery Store	Any brand of white vinegar
	Notes: Do not consume
Ammonium Hydroxide
	NH₄OH + H₂O	10% Solution: Household Ammonia 27% Solution: Strong Ammonia	Grocery Store (for Household Ammonia) Drug Store (for Strong Ammonia)	None
	Notes: Combine Household Ammonia and Strong Ammonia with Water.
Boric Acid
	H₃BO₃	Boric Acid	Drug Store	None
	Notes:
Calcium Carbonate
	CaCO₃	Chunks: Marble, Limestone Powder: Precipitated Chalk	Builder's Supplies (for Chunk) Drug Store (for Powder)	None
	Notes:
Calcium Chloride
	CaCl₂	"Laundry Aid" or "Laundry Salt" Road Salt	Grocery Store Hardware Store	None
	Notes: Many chemicals are used to melt snow. Make certain that if you purchase Road Salt it is pure Calcium Chloride.
Calcium Hydroxide
	Ca(OH)₂	Slaked lime, Garden lime	Hardware Store	None
	Notes:
Calcium Oxide
	CaO	Quicklime	Builder's Supplies	None
	Notes:
Calcium sulfate
	(CaSO₄) * H₂0 CaSO₄ * 2H₂O	Plaster of Paris or Gypsum	Hardware Store	None
	Notes:
Caustic Soda
	NaOH or KOH	Detergent	Grocery Store Pool Cleaning Supplies	None
	Notes: Caustic Soda is not a mixture. Make certain what you are using is 94-99% pure. Caustic Soda is a central to the manufacture of soap. Be extremely careful when mixing with acids.
Glucose
	C₆H₁₂O₆ + H₂O	Corn Syrup	Grocery Store	None
	Notes: For use in most formulas, the corn syrup should be dilluted with water, but the solution varies.
Hydrochloric acid
	HCl + H₂0	25% Solution: Muriatic Acid	Hardware Store	None
	Notes:
Magnesium sulfate
	MgSO₄ *7H₂O	Epsom Salt	Drug Store	None
	Notes:
Manganese dioxide
	MnO₂	Pyrolusite	Hardware Stores	None
	Notes: Pyrolusite can be extracted from certain types of batteries, called dry cells, but its use is becoming rare.
Naphthalene
	C₁₀H₈	Moth balls	Hardware Store	None
	Notes:
Potassium Nitrate
	KNO₃	Saltpeter	Hardware Store, Garden Center, Grocery Store	None
	Notes: Potassium nitrate is used as stump remover, fertilizer, and meat preservative.
Sodium Bicarbonate
	NaHCO₃	Baking Soda	Grocery Store	Arm & Hammer
	Notes: Be careful to use only single action baking soda when sodium bicarbonate is required. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, but baking powder has other ingredients, such as potassium tartrate and sodium monophosphate. Double Action Baking Powder contains single action baking powder, a 'high temperature acid' which is a gas formed at room temperature when moistened, and corn starch, which is added as a drying agent to prevent accidental activation.
Sodium Chloride
	NaCl	Salt, Table Salt	Grocery Store	None
	Notes:
Sodium Hydroxide
	NaOH	Caustic Soda, Lye	Grocery Store	Drano, crystalline granular drain cleaner
	Notes: Keep out of eyes, can cause blindness.
Sodium potassium tartrate
	NaKC₄H₄O₆ * 4H₂O	Rochelle Salt	Drug Store	None
	Notes:
Sodium Tetraborate
	Na₂B₄O₇ * 10H₂O	Borax	Drug Stores, Laundry Aisle	None
	Notes:
Sucrose
	C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁	Cane Sugar	Grocery Store	None
	Notes:
Zinc Chloride
	ZnCl₂ + H₂O	Tinner's Fluid	Hardware Store	None
	Notes: Also called "Killed acid," Zinc Chloride can be created by dissolving a small amount of zinc in Hydrochloric acid. Used for cleaning copper.

References

The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments

Category: Chemical substances

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Common_chemicals". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.