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Naming ions is a fairly simple process. The first thing to consider is if the ion is positively or negatively charged and if is a monatomic ion or a polyatomic ion. Secondly, if the ion in question is positively charged and has more than one oxidation state (charge) then the name of the ion must include a Roman numeral.



  1. Name Ions Step 1.jpg
    If the ion is monatomic and positively charged with a single oxidation state or charge, the ion name is the same as the name of the element given by the periodic table. For example groups 1 and 2 contain elements that form positively charged ions so Na+1 would be called a sodium ion. Groups 1 and 2 contain elements that which form ions , they are positively charged with a single oxidation number.
  2. Name Ions Step 2.jpg
    Some positively charged ions can have more than one oxidation number (charge); for example Iron (Fe) can be Fe 2+ or Fe 3+ , these types of ions are named the same as the element followed by a Roman numeral to indicate the charge of the ion . Fe 2+ is called iron (II) ion and Fe 3+ is iron (III). Most of the ions with multiple oxidation numbers are transition metals.
  3. Name Ions Step 3.jpg
    If an ion is negatively charged then the root of the element name is used followed by the suffix -ide. Below are some examples:
  4. Name Ions Step 4.jpg
    Cl 1- is called chloride. Notice the -ine ending ( actual name chlor-ine) is dropped and -ide is used instead. The -ide indicates the ion is negatively charged. More examples: O2- is oxide; S2- is sulfide; F 1- is fluoride; Cl 1- is named chloride.
  5. Name Ions Step 5.jpg
    If the ion is a polyatomic ion , meaning it contains more than one type of element then things get a bit more complex. It is recommended that you find a list of common polyatomic ions and committing the most common ones to memory. There are some patterns to follow when naming these but it's a bit complex and probably not needed here.

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Categories: Chemistry

Recent edits by: Teresa, Mohishukla, Sarah Eliza

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