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, can be 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. Extremely poisonous. As₂O₃
• Aqua vitae/Spirit of Wine – ethanol, formed by distilling wine^[1]
• fulminating gold – unstable gold carbonate formed by precipitation by potash from gold dissolved in aqua regia.
• 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 – 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/Caustic Wood Alkali – potassium hydroxide, formed by adding lime to potash.
• Caustic Soda/Caustic Marine Alkali – sodium hydroxide, formed by adding lime to natron. NaHCO₃
• Caustic Volatile Alkali – 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/Paris Yellow/Leipzig 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.
• 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. SbO₃
• 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 – gold hydrazide, formed by adding ammonia to the auric hydroxide. When dry, can explode on concussion.
• Galena – lead(II) sulfide. Lead ore.
• Glass of antimony – impure antimony tetroxide, formed by roasting stibnite. A yellow pigment for glass and porcelain. SbO₄
• 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/Argentum Cornu – a weathered form of chlorargyrite, an ore of silver chloride.

• Luna cornea – silver chloride, formed by heating horn silver till it liquifies 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

• 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/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, formed by roasting litharge in air. Pb₃O₄
• Naples yellow/Cassel yellow – oxychloride of lead, formed by heating litharge with sal ammoniac.

• Mercurius praecipitatus – red mercuric oxide.
• Milk of Sulfur (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
• Nitrum Flammans – ammonium nitrate.
• 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.
• 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 – 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.
• 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.
• Sal Ammoniac – ammonium chloride.
• Sal Petrae (Med. Latin: "stone salt")/Salt of Petra/Saltpetre/Nitrate of potash – potassium nitrate, typically mined from covered dungheaps. KNO₃
• Salt/Common salt – A mineral; sodium chloride, formed by evaporating seawater (impure form). NaCl
• Spirit of box/Pyroxylic spirit – methanol, distillation of wood alcohol. CH₃OH
• Spirit of Hartshorn – ammonia, formed by the decomposition of sal-ammoniac by unslaked lime.
• Salt of Hartshorn/Sal Volatile – ammonium carbonate formed by distilling bones and horns.
• 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.

• Spiritus fumans – 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 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.^[2]
• Thion Hudor – lime sulfur, formed by boiling flowers of sulfur with slaked lime.
• 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 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.
• 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.

References