Common Acronyms

Here shall be an alphabetically sorted collection of commonly used acronyms (NOT chemical formulas) and slang prevalent on ScienceMadness and in the indiechem community.

A list of common abbreviations used in a professional setting as well can be found here.

A

AA—"Acetic acid" or "Acetic anhydride", more often AA is used for acetic acid, and if both compounds are present in a text, use the Ac2O abbreviation (see below) for acetic anhydride to avoid any confusion between the compounds

Ac—"Acetate"

Ac2O—"Acetic anhydride", best to use this abbreviation if the text also mentions glacial acetic acid to avoid confusion

ADN—"Ammonium dinitramide"

ADP or MAP—"Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate"

AgNTz—"Silver nitrotetrazole"

AHA—"Alpha Hydroxy Acid"

Am—"Amyl" (Pentyl) but it's also the symbol for americium

Amateur Chemistry—Those studying of chemistry as a hobby, usually at home.

AMMO—"3-(Azidomethyl)-3-methyloxetane"

AN—"Ammonium nitrate"

ANFO—"Ammonium nitrate fuel oil", an explosive used commonly in mining

ANNM'—"Ammonium nitrate nitromethane"

AP—"Ammonium perchlorate", sometimes also "acetone peroxide"

APC—"Ammonium perchlorate"

AQ—"Aminoguanidine"

aq—"aqueous"

AQBC—"Aminoguanidine bicarbonate", see: Aminoguanidine

ASA—"Acetylsalicylic acid"

ATz, sometimes 5-ATz, "5-Aminotetrazole"

B

BAMO—"3,3-Bis(azidomethyl)oxetane"

BDZ—"Benzodiazepine"

BHT—"Butylated hydroxytoluene"

Bn—"Benzyl"

BP—"Boiling point" or "Black powder"

BTNENA or BTNEN, also HOX—"Bis(trinitroethyl)nitroamine"

BTNEU—"1,3-Bis(2,2,2-trinitroethyl)urea"

BTTN, sometimes BTT—"1,2,4-Butanetriol trinitrate", an explosive also used as rocket propellant

Bu—"Butyl"

BuNENA—"2-(Butylnitroamino)ethyl nitrate"

Bz—"Benzoyl"

C

CA—"Cyanuric acid"

CAS—"Chemical Abstracts Service"

CATO—"Catastrophe at take off", usually referring to the explosion of a rocket during lift-off.

Cbz—"Benzyloxycarbonyl"

CHP—"Copper hexamine perchlorate", a complex salt of copper(II)-, hexamine and perchlorate-ions. Term coined by Dr. Liptakov.

Cit—"Citrate"^[1]

CL-20 or HNIW—"Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane"

COPAE—"The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives" by Tenney L. Davis (Book)

Cp—"Cyclopentyl"

CTMTNA—"Cyclotrimethylenetrinitrosamine", also known as R-Salt

D

D—"Dextro" (derived from Latin dexter, right)

DAAF—"Diaminoazoxyfurazan"

DADNE or FOX-7—"1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethene"

DBX-1—"Copper(I) 5‐nitrotetrazolate", sometimes called "CuNTz" (this however is more of an inside joke by Tdep)

DCCA—"(Sodium) dichloroisocyanurate", similar to TCCA

DCM—"Dichloromethane"

DDF—"4,4'-Dinitro-3,3'-diazenofuroxan"

DDNP—"Diazodinitrophenol"

DDQ—"2,3-Dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone"

DDT—"Deflagration to detonation transition" OR "Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane"

DEAD or DEADCAT—"Diethyl azodicarboxylate"

DEGN—"Diethylene glycol dinitrate"

DFA—"Difluoroacetic acid"

DHMO—"Dihydrogen monoxide aka water"

DINA—"Dioxyethylnitramine dinitrate"

DINGU—"Dinitroglycoluril"

DMF—"Dimethylformamide"

DMSO—"Dimethyl sulfoxide"

DNA—"Deoxyribonucleic acid"

DNP—"Dinitrophenol"

DNT—"Dinitrotoluene"

DPEHN—"Dipentaerythritol hexanitrate"

DPT—"Dinitropentamethylenetetramine" also known as "3.7-Dinitro-1,3,5,7-Tetraazabicyclo[3,3,1] nonane"

E

EBCN—"Ethylenebis(chloronitramine)"

EDNA—"Ethylenedinitramine"

EDTA—"Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid"

EGDN—"Ethylene glycol dinitrate"

EM—"Energetic Material"

Et—"Ethyl"

ETN—"Erythritol tetranitrate"

F

Fmoc—"Fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl protecting group"

For—"Formyl"

FOX-12 or GUDN—"Guanylurea dinitramide"

FOX-7 or DADNE—"1,1-Diamino-2,2-dinitroethene"

FP—"Freezing point"

G

G2ZT—An explosive bistetrazole derivative

GABA—"gamma-Aminobutyric acid"

GAP—"Glycidyl azide polymer"

GC—"Gun Cotton". See Nitrocellulose

Gdm—"Guanidinium"

Gdn or Gu—"Guanidine"

GUDN or FOX-12—"Guanylurea dinitramide"

H

HAN—"Hydroxylammonium nitrate"

HAP—"Hydroxylammonium perchlorate"

HBT—"5,5'-Hydrazinebistetrazole"

HDN—"Hexamethylenetetramine dinitrate" also called "Hexamine dinitrate"

HHTDD—"Hexanitrohexaazatricyclododecanedione"

HMPA—"Hexamethylphosphoramide"

HMTA—"Hexamethylenetetramine"

HMTD—"Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine"

HMX—"High Melting Explosive", also known as "octogen"

HNC—"Heptanitrocubane"

HND, HNDA, HNDP or HNDPA—"Hexanitrodiphenylamine"

HNE—"Hexanitroethane"

HNEM—"High nitrogen energetic material"

HNIW or CL-20—"Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane"

HNS, also JD-X—"Hexanitrostilbene"

HOX, also BTNENA or BTNEN—"Bis(trinitroethyl)nitroamine"

HPA—"Hypophosphorous acid"

I

ICP-AES—"Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy"

ICP-MS—"Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry"

IDLH—"Immediately dangerous to life or health"

Im—"Imidazolyl"

Indiechem—"Indie Chemistry;" another term for "amateur chemistry," coined by Texium

IPA—"Isopropyl alcohol" or "Isopropylamine"

IPN—"Isopropyl nitrate"

iPr—"Isopropyl"

ISA—"Ionic Strength Adjuster"

ISDN—"Isosorbide dinitrate"

IUPAC—"International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry"

J

JCS—"Journal of the Chemical Society"

JD-X or HNS—"Hexanitrostilbene"

K

Ka—"Acid dissociation constant"

Kewls

KE—"Kinetic Energy"

L

L—"Levo" (from Latin laevo, left)

LAH—"Lithium aluminium hydride"

LD—"Lethal dose"

LD50—"Lethal dose 50%"

LDPE—"Low Density Polyethylene"

LOX—"Liquid oxygen"

M

m—"Meta"

MAP or ADP—"Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate"

Me—"Methyl"

MEHQ—"4-Methoxyphenol" or "Mequinol"

MEK—"Methyl ethyl ketone"

MEKP—"Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide"

Mes—"Mesityl"

MFA—"Monofluoroacetic acid"

MHN—"Mannitol hexanitrate"

MIBK—"Methyl isobutyl ketone"

MMH—"Monomethyl hydrazine"

MN—"Methyl nitrate"

MO—"Metal oxide" or "Molecular orbital"

MOX—"Metal oxidizer explosives", a name given to several explosive compositions

MP—"Melting point"

Ms—"Mesyl" or "methanesulfonyl"

MSDS—"Material Safety Data Sheet"

N

NaNTz—"Sodium nitrotetrazole"

Na-DCCA or NaDCCA—"Sodium dichloroisocyanurate"

NC—"Nitrocellulose"

NDPA—"2,4-Dinitrodiphenylamine"

NENO—"Dinitrodioxyethyloxamide dinitrate", an explosive

NG—"Nitroglycerin"

NIBG—"Nitroisobutylglycerol"

NIBGTN, also NIBTN—"Nitroisobutylglycerol Trinitrate"

NM—"Nitromethane"

NMP—"N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone"

NPN—"n-Propyl nitrate"

NQ—"Nitroguanidine"

O

o—"Ortho"

OB or OB%—"Oxygen balance"

ON—"Oxygen number"

ONC—"Octanitrocubane"

OXY—"Oxygen"

P

p—"Para"

P2P—"Phenylacetone"

PAH—"Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon"

PAR—"4-(2-Pyridylazo)resorcinol", a dye used in complexometric titration

PBS—"Sodium perborate"

PBX—"Plastic bonded explosive"

PC—"Propylene carbonate"

PCB—"Polychlorinated biphenyl"

PE—"Plastic explosive"

PEG—"Polyethylene glycol"

PEL—"Permissible Exposure Limit"

PETN—"Pentaerythritol tetranitrate"

PET, PETE, PETP or PET-P—"Polyethylene Terephtalate"

PETRIN—"Pentaerythritol trinitrate"

PG—"Propylene glycol"

PGDN—"Propylene glycol dinitrate"

Pip—"Piperidinium"

Piv—"Pivalyl"

PLX—"Picatinny Liquid eXplosive"

PMMA—"Poly(methyl methacrylate)"

Pn—"Pentyl"

PNP—"Polynitropolyphenylene", an explosive polymer

PO—"Propylene oxide"

PP—"Polypropylene"

PPG—"Polypropylene glycol"

Pr—"Propyl"

PSDS—"Product Safety Data Sheet"

PVC—"Polyvinyl chloride"

PVN—"Polyvinyl nitrate"

Py—"Pyridinium"

Q

QLL—"Quasi-Liquid Layer"

R

R—"Rectus" (Latin, right), stereochemical descriptor of absolute configuration

RDX—"Research Department eXplosive" or "Research Department Formula X"

RFNA—"Red fuming nitric acid", very concentrated nitric acid with a lot of NOx dissolved in it, which gives the acid a reddish color.

RNA—"RiboNucleic Acid"

RT—"Room Temperature"

S

S—"Sinister" (Latin, left), stereochemical descriptor of absolute configuration

SA—"Salicylic acid" or "sulfuric acid"

SADS—"Silver Acetylide Double Salt"

SDS—"Safety data sheet" or "Sodium dodecyl sulfate"

sec-Bu—"sec-Butyl"

SLS—"Sodium lauryl sulfate"

SN—"Sodium nitrate"

SNP—"Sodium nitroprusside"

STP—"Standard Temperature and Pressure"

Suc—"Succinyl"

T

t-Bu—"tert-Butyl"

TATB—"Triaminotrinitrobenzene"

TATNB or TNTAZB—"1,3,5-Triazido-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene"

TATP—"Triacetone triperoxide." See: acetone peroxide

TACP or TACPs—"Tetraaminecopper(II) persulphate", however TACP can also mean "Tetraamminecopper(II) perchlorate", therefore TACPs is preferred for tetraaminecopper(II) persulphate

TACC—"Tetraamminecopper(II) chlorate"

TACN—"Tetraaminecopper(II) nitrate"

TACOT—"Tetranitro-2,3,5,6-dibenzo-1,3a,4,6a-tetraazapentalene"

TAGN—"Triaminoguanidine nitrate"

TBPO—"t-Butyl-bicyclophosphate"

TBT—"Tetrabutyltin"

TBX—"ThermoBaric eXplosive"

TCCA—"Trichloroisocyanuric acid"

TDS—"Totally Dissolved Solids"

TEA—"Triethylamine" or "Triethanolamine"

TEGDN or TEGN—"Triethylene glycol dinitrate"

TELA or TEOA—"Triethanolamine"