Inorganic chemistry is the study of the chemical elements and their compounds except most carbon compounds. These carbon-containing compounds are called organic compounds. Inorganic chemists make new compounds, determine the arrangement of atoms in inorganic compounds, and study how these compounds react with each other. There are more than 100 elements, and their reactions with each other can produce millions of compounds. Most of these compounds have yet to be prepared.
One important class of inorganic compounds, called coordination compounds, contains a central metal atom surrounded by nonmetal atoms. For example, hemoglobin, the large, red molecule that carries oxygen in the blood, contains iron atoms that are each surrounded by nitrogen and oxygen atoms. Another important group of inorganic compounds consists of nonmetal elements, including boron, nitrogen, oxygen, and silicon. Atoms of oxygen and silicon, for example, alternate in long chains that form the backbone of silicone rubber molecules. Many other inorganic compounds are solids that have no identifiable molecules. They include table salt and the minerals that make up rocks.
In industry, inorganic chemists work to develop materials that are important in our lives. These materials include coordination compounds that stop the growth of cancer cells; glass fibers that transmit telephone messages with light; and ceramics that lose their electric resistance and become superconductors when cooled.
