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.

Metals and metalloids

 * Antimony/Stibnium – Sb
 * Bismuth (Wismuth) – Bi
 * Copper/Cuprum – associated with Venus. Cu
 * Gold/Aurum – associated with the Sun. Au
 * Iron/Ferrum – associated with Mars. Fe
 * Lead/Plumbum – associated with Saturn. Pb
 * Quicksilver/Hydrargyrum – associated with Mercury. Hg
 * Silver/Argentum – associated with the Moon. Ag
 * Tin/Stannum – associated with Jupiter. Sn

Minerals, stones, and pigments

 * Bluestone – mineral form of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate, also called blue vitriol.
 * Borax – sodium borate; was also used to refer to other related minerals.
 * Cadmia/tuttia/tutty – probably zinc carbonate.
 * Calamine – 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.
 * Calx – calcium oxide; was also used to refer to other metal oxides.
 * Chalcanthum – the residue produced by strongly roasting blue vitriol (copper sulfate); it is composed mostly of cupric oxide.
 * 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/Paris yellow/Leipzig yello – 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.
 * Cuprite – copper(I) oxide ore.
 * Dutch White – a pigment, formed from one part of white lead to three of barium sulfate. BaSO4
 * Flowers of antimony – 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 – principally, silver nitride, formed by dissolving silver(I) oxide in ammonia. Very explosive when dry.
 * Fulminating gold – a number of gold based explosives which "fulminate", or detonate easily.
 * – gold hydrazide, formed by adding ammonia to the auric hydroxide. When dry, can explode on concussion.
 * – an 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.
 * Gypsum – a mineral; calcium sulfate. CaSO4
 * Horn silver/argentum cornu – a weathered form of chlorargyrite, an ore of silver chloride.
 * Luna cornea – silver chloride, formed by heating horn silver till it liquefies and then cooling.


 * King's yellow – formed by mixing orpiment with white arsenic.
 * Lapis solaris (Bologna stone) – barium sulfide – 1603, Vincenzo Cascariolo.
 * Lead fume – lead oxide, found in flues at lead smelters.
 * Lime/quicklime (burnt lime)/calx viva/unslaked lime – calcium oxide, formed by calcining limestone
 * Slaked lime – calcium hydroxide. Ca(OH)2


 * Marcasite – a mineral; iron disulfide. In moist air it turns into green vitriol, FeSO4.
 * 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 – oxychloride of lead, formed by heating litharge with sal ammoniac.


 * Mercurius praecipitatus – red mercuric oxide.
 * Mosaic gold – stannic sulfide, formed by heating a mixture of tin filings, sulfur, and sal-ammoniac.
 * Orpiment – arsenic trisulfide, an ore of arsenic.
 * Pearl white – bismuth nitrate, BiNO3
 * Philosophers' wool/nix alba (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 – antimony 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
 * Realgar – arsenic disulfide, an ore of arsenic.
 * Regulus of antimony
 * Resin of copper – copper(I) chloride (cuprous chloride), formed by heating copper with corrosive sublimate.
 * Rouge/crocus/colcothar – ferric oxide, formed by burning green vitriol in air.
 * Stibnite – antimony or antimony trisulfide, ore of antimony.
 * Turpeth mineral – 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 sublimating 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)
 * Venetian white – formed from equal parts of white lead and barium sulfate.
 * Zaffre – impure cobalt arsenate, formed after roasting cobalt ore.
 * Zinc blende – zinc sulfide.

Salts

 * Glauber's salt – sodium sulfate. Na2SO4
 * Sal alembroth – salt composed of chlorides of ammonium and mercury.
 * Sal ammoniac – ammonium chloride.
 * Sal petrae (Med. Latin: "stone salt")/salt of petra/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 tartar – potassium carbonate; also called potash.
 * Salt of hartshorn/sal volatile – ammonium carbonate formed by distilling bones and horns.
 * Tin salt – hydrated stannous chloride; see also spiritus fumans, another chloride of tin.

Vitriols

 * Blue vitriol – copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate.
 * Green vitriol – a mineral; iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate. (or ferrous sulfate)
 * Red vitriol - cobalt sulfate.
 * Sweet vitriol – diethyl ether. It could be made by mixing oil of vitriol with spirit of wine and heating it.
 * White vitriol – zinc sulfate, formed by lixiviating roasted zinc blende.

Waters, oils and spirits

 * Aqua fortis/spirit of nitre – 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/aqua vita/spirit of wine, ardent spirits – ethanol, formed by distilling wine
 * 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
 * Butter of tin – hydrated tin(IV) chloride; see also spiritus fumans, another chloride of tin.
 * 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
 * Spirit of box/pyroxylic spirit – methanol, CH3OH, distilled wood alcohol.
 * Spiritus fumans – stannic chloride, formed by distilling tin with corrosive sublimate.
 * 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.

Others

 * Alkahest – universal solvent.
 * Azoth – initially this referred to a supposed universal solvent but later became another name for Mercury.
 * Bitumen – highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum.
 * Blende
 * Brimstone – sulfur
 * Flowers of sulfur – formed by distilling sulfur.


 * Caustic potash/caustic wood alkali – potassium hydroxide, formed by adding lime to potash.
 * Caustic Soda/caustic marine alkali – sodium hydroxide, NaOH, formed by adding lime to natron.
 * Caustic volatile alkali – ammonium hydroxide.
 * Corrosive sublimate – mercuric chloride, formed by subliming mercury, calcined green vitriol, common salt, and nitre.
 * Gum Arabic – gum from the acacia tree.
 * Liver of sulfur – formed by fusing potash and sulfur.
 * Lunar caustic/lapis infernalis – silver nitrate, formed by dissolving silver in aqua fortis and evaporating.
 * Lye – potash in a water solution, formed by leaching wood ashes.
 * Potash – potassium carbonate, formed by evaporating lye; also called salt of tartar. K2CO3
 * Pearlash – formed by baking potash in a kiln.


 * Milk of sulfur (lac sulphuris) – formed by adding an acid to thion hudor (lime sulfur).
 * Natron/soda ash/soda – sodium carbonate. Na2CO3
 * Nitrum flammans – ammonium nitrate.
 * Sugar of lead – lead(II) acetate, formed by dissolving lead oxide in vinegar.
 * Thion hudor – lime sulfur, formed by boiling flowers of sulfur with slaked lime.