Chloridic

Chloridic is an adjective used in chemistry to describe anything related to chloride ions (Cl−) or to chlorine-containing compounds. It derives from the root chlorid-, from Latin chloridum, with the English -ic suffix. In use, chloridic is most often applied to salts, reagents, or functional groups that involve chloride as a counterion or substituent.

Inorganic chlorides are exemplified by table salt sodium chloride (NaCl), potassium chloride (KCl), and calcium chloride (CaCl2). These compounds are typically stable crystalline solids used in food, deicing, water treatment, and chemical synthesis. Chloridic conditions or chloridic reagents describe chemical environments where chloride ions participate, or where chlorine is introduced into a molecule as a chloride group.

Organic chlorides include chloromethane (CH3Cl), dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), chloroform (CHCl3), and many chlorinated hydrocarbons. Chlorination reactions, where chlorine fragments are added or substituted with chloride-containing reagents, are common in synthesis and industrial chemistry. Reagents such as thionyl chloride (SOCl2) and phosphorus oxychloride (POCl3) are described as chloridizing agents because they transfer chloride to substrates to form alkyl chlorides or acyl chlorides. Some chlorinated compounds pose environmental or health hazards due to persistence and toxicity.

The term chloridic is relatively uncommon in contemporary plain-language use; more common descriptors are chloride, chlorinated, or chloridation. It is often encountered in older texts or in discussions emphasizing chloride transfer in reactions.