Overview

Ammonium chloride (uh-MOH-ni-um KLOR-ide) occurs as odorless white crystals with a cool, salt-like taste. The compound is of interest to historians of chemistry as being one of the first chemicals mentioned by ancient scholars and the first compound of ammonia to have been discovered. For example, the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE) wrote about a substance he called hammoniacus sal that appears to have been ammonium chloride. The problem is that various authorities used the term sal ammoniac for a variety of materials that were clearly different from each other. No one really knew the compound's actual chemical composition until 1700, when it was discovered by the French botanist Joseph Tournefort (1656–1708). In any case, sal ammoniac was an important raw material in early industrial operations, including primarily dyeing and metallurgical operations.

Key Facts

Other Names:

Ammonium muriate; sal ammoniac; salmiac

Formula:

NH₄Cl

Elements:

Nitrogen...