chloride

1 any compound containing a chlorine atom

2 any salt of hydrochloric acid (containing the chloride ion)

English

Etymology

chlor(ine) + -ide

Noun

1. any salt of hydrochloric acid, such as sodium chloride, or any binary compound of chlorine and another element or radical

Translations

Derived terms

• aluminic chloride
• aluminium chloride, aluminum chloride
• ammonium chloride
• ammonium ruthenium chloride
• argentic chloride
• argentous chloride
• auric chloride
• auro-chloride
• barium chloride
• benzalkonium chloride
• benzenediazochloride
• berkelium chloride
• beryllium chloride
• bichloride
• bromine chloride
• cadmium chloride
• caesium chloride, cesium chloride
• calcium chloride
• carbonyl chloride
• cerous chloride
• chloride of lime
• chloride of potash
• chloride of soda
• chlorider
• chloridise, chloridize
• chromic chloride
• chromo-chloride
• chromous chloride
• cobalt chloride
• cobaltous chloride
• copper chloride
• cupric chloride
• cuprous chloride
• curium chloride
• cyanogen chloride
• cyanuric chloride
• dichloride
• diethylaluminium chloride
• dimercury chloride
• dimethylvinylchloride
• ferric chloride
• ferrous chloride
• gold chloride
• hexachloride
• hexadecachloride
• hydrochloride
• hydrogen chloride
• indium chloride
• iodo-chloride
• iridio-chloride
• iridious chloride
• iron chloride
• lead chloride
• lithium chloride
• magnesium chloride
• manganese chloride
• manganous chloride
• mercuric chloride
• mercurous chloride
• methyl chloride
• molybdenum chloride
• monochloride
• nickel chloride, nickelous chloride
• niobium chloride
• nitro blue tetrazolium chloride
• osmic chloride
• osmiochloride
• osmious chloride
• oxychloride
• palladium chloride
• pentachloride
• perchloride
• phosphoric chloride
• phosphorous chloride
• phosphorus chloride
• phosphoryl chloride
• platinammonium chloride
• platinic chloride
• platinichloride
• platinochloride
• platinoso-platinic chloride
• platinous chloride
• plumbic chloride
• plumbous chloride
• polyvinyl chloride
• polyvinylidene chloride
• potassio-platinic chloride
• potassio-platinum chloride
• potassium chloride
• potassium magnesium chloride hexahydrate
• promethium chloride
• protochloride
• radium chloride
• rhodio-chloride
• rubidium chloride
• scandium chloride
• silver chloride
• sodium chloride
• stannic chloride
• stannous chloride
• strontium chloride
• strontium chloride hexahydrate
• subchloride
• sulfonyl chloride
• sulfuric chloride
• sulfurous chloride, sulphurous chloride
• sulfuryl chloride, sulphuryl chloride
• tantalic chloride
• tellurium chloride
• tetrachloride
• thallous chloride
• thionyl chloride
• thorium chloride
• tin chloride
• titanium chloride
• trichloride
• tungstic chloride
• tungstous chloride
• uranous chloride
• uranyl chloride
• vanadium chloride
• vanadous chloride
• vinyl chloride
• vinylidene chloride
• xenon chloride
• yttrium anhydrous chloride
• zinc chloride

The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine picks up one electron to form an anion (negatively-charged ion) Cl−. The salts of hydrochloric acid HCl contain chloride ions and can also be called chlorides. An example is table salt, which is sodium chloride with the chemical formula NaCl. In water, it dissolves into Na+ and Cl− ions.

The word chloride can also refer to a chemical compound in which one or more chlorine atoms are covalently bonded in the molecule. This means that chlorides can be either inorganic or organic compounds. The simplest example of an inorganic covalently-bonded chloride is hydrogen chloride, HCl. A simple example of an organic covalently-bonded (an organochloride) chloride is chloromethane (CH3Cl), often called methyl chloride.

Other examples of inorganic covalently-bonded chlorides that are used as reactants are:

• phosphorus trichloride, phosphorus pentachloride, and thionyl chloride, all three of which reactive chlorinating reagents that have been used in a laboratory
• disulfur dichloride (S2Cl2), used for vulcanization of rubber.

Human health

Chloride is a chemical the human body needs for metabolism (the process of turning the food you eat into energy). It also helps keep the body's acid-base balance. The amount of chloride in the blood is carefully controlled by the kidneys. Further reading:Renal chloride reabsorption

Chloride ions have important physiological roles. For instance, in the central nervous system, the inhibitory action of glycine and some of the action of GABA relies on the entry of Cl− into specific neurons. Also, the chloride-bicarbonate exchanger biological transport protein relies on the chloride ion to increase the blood's capacity of carbon dioxide, in the form of the bicarbonate ion.

The normal blood reference range of chloride for adults in most labs is 95 to 105 milliequivalents (mEq) per liter. The normal range may vary slightly from lab to lab. Normal ranges are usually shown next to your results in the lab report.

The North American Dietary Reference Intake recommends a daily intake of between 2300 and 3600 mg/day for 25-year-old males.

Other applications

Chloride is also a useful and reliable chemical indicator of river / groundwater fecal contamination, as chloride is a non-reactive solute and ubiquitous to sewage.