List of alchemical substances

Alchemical studies produced a number of substances, which were later classified as particular chemical compounds or mixtures of compounds.

Many of these terms were in common use into the 20th century.

Aqua Fortis – nitric acid, formed by 2 parts saltpetre in 1 part (pure) oil of vitriol (sulfuric acid). (Historically, this process could not have been used, as 98% oil of vitriol was not available.)
Aqua Ragia/Spirit of turpentine/Oil of turpentine/Gum turpentine – turpentine, formed by the distillation of pine tree resin
Aqua Regia (Latin: "royal water") – a mixture of aqua fortis and spirit of salt
Aqua Tofani – arsenic trioxide, As₂O₃ (extremely poisonous)
Aqua vitae/Spirit of Wine – ethanol, formed by distilling wine^[1]
Azoth - initially this referred to a supposed universal solvent but later became another name for Mercury
Bismuth (German: Wismuth)
Bitumen - highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum
Blende
Blue Vitriol/Bluestone – A mineral; copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate.
Brimstone – sulfur

Flowers of sulfur – formed by distilling sulfur.

Butter (or oil) of antimony – antimony trichloride. Formed by distilling roasted stibnite with corrosive sublimate, or dissolving stibnite in hot concentrated hydrochloric acid and distilling. SbCl₃
Cadmia/Tuttia/Tutty – probably zinc carbonate
Calamine (mineral) – zinc carbonate
Calomel/Horn Quicksilver/horn mercury – mercury(I) chloride, a very poisonous purgative formed by subliming a mixture of mercuric chloride and metallic mercury, triturated in a mortar and heated in an iron pot. The crust formed on the lid was ground to powder and boiled with water to remove the calomel.
Caustic potash/ – potassium hydroxide, formed by adding lime to potash
Caustic Soda/ – sodium hydroxide, NaOH, formed by adding lime to natron
– ammonium hydroxide
Chalk – a rock composed of porous biogenic calcium carbonate, CaCO₃
Chrome green – chromic oxide and cobalt oxide
Chrome orange – chrome yellow and chrome red
Chrome red – basic lead chromate – PbCrO₄+PbO
Chrome yellow// – lead chromate, PbCrO₄
Cinnabar/Vermilion – refers to several substances, among them: mercury(II) sulfide (HgS), or native vermilion (the common ore of mercury).
Copper Glance – copper(I) sulfide ore.
Corrosive sublimate – mercuric chloride, formed by subliming mercury, calcined green vitriol, common salt, and nitre
Cuprite – copper(I) oxide ore
– a pigment, formed from one part of white lead to three of barium sulfate, BaSO₄
– antimony trioxide, formed by roasting stibnite at high temperature and condensing the white fumes that form. Sb₂O₃
Fool's gold – a mineral, iron disulfide or pyrite; can form oil of vitriol on contact with water and air.
Fulminating silver – silver nitride, formed by dissolving silver(I) oxide in ammonia. Very explosive when dry.
Fulminating gold – , formed by adding ammonia to the auric hydroxide. When dry, can explode on concussion.
Fulminating gold – unstable gold carbonate formed by precipitation by potash from gold dissolved in aqua regia
Galena – lead(II) sulfide. Lead ore.
Glass of antimony – impure antimony tetroxide, SbO₄ formed by roasting stibnite. A yellow pigment for glass and porcelain.
Glauber's Salt – sodium sulfate. Na₂SO₄
Green Vitriol – a mineral; iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate. (or ferrous sulfate)

Marcasite – a mineral; iron disulfide. In moist air it turns into green vitriol, FeSO₄.
Rouge/Crocus/Colcothar – ferric oxide, formed by burning green vitriol in air

Gum Arabic – gum from the acacia tree
Gypsum – a mineral; calcium sulfate, CaSO₄
Horn Silver/ – a weathered form of chlorargyrite, an ore of silver chloride

– silver chloride, formed by heating horn silver till it liquefies and then cooling

King's yellow – formed by mixing orpiment with white arsenic
(Bologna stone) – barium sulfide – 1603,
– lead oxide, found in flues at lead smelters
Lime/Quicklime (Burnt Lime)// – calcium oxide, formed by calcining limestone

Slaked Lime – calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)₂

Liver of sulfur – formed by fusing potash and sulfur
Lunar caustic/ – silver nitrate, formed by dissolving silver in aqua fortis and evaporating
Lye – potash in a water solution, formed by leaching wood ashes

Potash/Salt of tartar – potassium carbonate, formed by evaporating lye. K₂CO₃
Pearlash – formed by baking potash in a kiln

Massicot – lead monoxide, PbO

Litharge – lead monoxide, formed by fusing and powdering massicot
Minium/Red Lead – trilead tetroxide, Pb₃O₄; formed by roasting litharge in air
Naples yellow/Cassel yellow – , formed by heating litharge with sal ammoniac

Mercurius praecipitatus – red mercuric oxide
(lac sulphuris) – formed by adding an acid to thion hudor (lime sulfur)
Mosaic gold – stannic sulfide, formed by heating a mixture of tin filings, sulfur, and sal-ammoniac
Natron/Soda Ash/Soda – sodium carbonate, Na₂CO₃
– ammonium nitrate
Oil of Tartar – concentrated potassium carbonate, K₂CO₃ solution
Oil of Tartar per Deliquium – potassium carbonate dissolved in the water which its extracts from the air
Oil of Vitriol/Spirit of Vitriol – sulfuric acid, a weak version can be formed by heating green vitriol and blue vitriol. H₂SO₄
Orpiment – arsenic trisulfide, an ore of arsenic
– bismuth nitrate, BiNO₃
/ (white snow)/Zinc White – zinc oxide, formed by burning zinc in air, used as a pigment
Plumbago – a mineral, graphite; not discovered in pure form until 1564
Powder of Algaroth – antimonious oxychloride, formed by precipitation when a solution of butter of antimony and spirit of salt is poured into water
Purple of Cassius �� formed by precipitating a mixture of gold, stannous and stannic chlorides, with alkali. Used for glass coloring
Quicksilver - Mercury
Realgar – arsenic disulfide, an ore of arsenic
- cobalt sulfate^[2]
Regulus of antimony
– copper(I) chloride (cuprous chloride), formed by heating copper with corrosive sublimate
Sal Ammoniac – ammonium chloride
Sal Petrae (Med. Latin: "stone salt")//Saltpetre/Nitrate of potash – potassium nitrate, KNO₃, typically mined from covered dungheaps
Salt/Common salt – A mineral; sodium chloride, NaCl, formed by evaporating seawater (impure form)
Salt of Hartshorn/Sal Volatile – ammonium carbonate formed by distilling bones and horns
/Pyroxylic spirit – methanol, CH₃OH, distilled wood alcohol
Spirit of Hartshorn – ammonia, formed by the decomposition of sal-ammoniac by unslaked lime
Spirit of Salt/Acidum Salis – the liquid form of hydrochloric acid (also called muriatic acid), formed by mixing common salt with oil of vitriol

Marine Acid Air – gaseous form of hydrochloric acid

– stannic chloride, formed by distilling tin with corrosive sublimate

Tin salt – hydrated stannous chloride
Butter of tin – hydrated tin(IV) chloride

Stibnite – antimony or antimony trisulfide, ore of antimony
Sugar of Lead – lead(II) acetate, formed by dissolving lead oxide in vinegar
Sweet Vitriol – diethyl ether. It could be made by mixing oil of vitriol with spirit of wine and heating it.^[3]
Thion Hudor – lime sulfur, formed by boiling flowers of sulfur with slaked lime
– hydrolysed form of mercury(II) sulfate
Verdigris – Carbonate of Copper or (more recently) copper(II) acetate. The carbonate is formed by weathering copper. The acetate is formed by vinegar acting on copper. One version was used as a green pigment.
White arsenic – arsenious oxide, formed by subliminating arsenical soot from the roasting ovens
White lead – carbonate of lead, a toxic pigment, produced by corroding stacks of lead plates with dilute vinegar beneath a heap of moistened wood shavings. (replaced by blanc fixe & lithopone)
White vitriol – zinc sulfate, formed by lixiviating roasted zinc blende
– formed from equal parts of white lead and barium sulfate
Zaffre – impure , formed after roasting cobalt ore
Zinc Blende – zinc sulfide

References[]

^ Gray, Theodore (2014). Molecules. 151 West 19th Street New York, NY 10011: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. pp. 27–31. ISBN 978-1-60376-396-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^ "Vitriol | chemical compound | Britannica".
^ Gray, Theodore (2014). Molecules. 151 West 19th Street New York, NY 10011: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. pp. 27–31. ISBN 978-1-60376-396-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

[1] Gray, Theodore (2014). Molecules. 151 West 19th Street New York, NY 10011: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. pp. 27–31. ISBN 978-1-60376-396-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

[2] "Vitriol | chemical compound | Britannica".

[3] Gray, Theodore (2014). Molecules. 151 West 19th Street New York, NY 10011: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. pp. 27–31. ISBN 978-1-60376-396-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

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