Binary Ionic Compounds

    Simple binary ionic compounds contain only a kind of metal cation and a kind of nonmetal anion.

        M_nX_y

The format for the name of this kind of compound is two words:

    First word:  the complete name of the less electronegative element.

    and followed by a

    Second word:  consisting of the unambiguous stem of the more electronegative element with an -ide suffix.  Greek prefixes are not used with ionic compounds.

    When more than one compound is possible for the two elements, either the oxidation state of the less electronegative element is indicated with a Roman numeral or, if possible, the stem of that element's name (frequently based on the Latin or Greek) is used with an -ous or -ic suffix.  

This Power Point Show has more examples of Binary Ionic compounds.