List of pre-scientific substances

Alchemical studies produced a number of substances, which were later classified as particular chemical compounds or mixtures of compounds.

• Aqua Fortis - nitric acid, can be formed by 2 parts saltpetre in 1 part (pure) oil of vitrol. (Historically, this process could not have been used, as 98% oil of vitrol 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.
• Aqua Vitae/Spirit of Wine - ethanol, formed by distilling wine
• Auric Hydroxide - formed by precipitation by potash from gold dissolved in aqua regis.
• Bismuth/Wismuth
• Blende
• Blue Vitriol/Bluestone - A mineral; copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate.
• Brimstone - sulfur.

• Flowers of sulphur - formed by distilling sulphur.

• Butter of Antimony - antimony trichloride. formed by distilling roasted stibnite with corrosive sublimate, or dissolving stibnite in hot concentrated hydrochloric acid and distilling.
• 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 a 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.
• Caustic Volatile Alkali - ammonium hydroxide.
• Chalk - a mineral; calcium carbonate.
• 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 sulphate.
• Flowers of antimony
• 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.
• Glauber's Salt - sodium sulfate.
• Green Vitriol - A mineral; iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate. (or ferrous sulphate)

• Marcasite - A mineral; iron disulphide. In moist air it turns into green vitriol.
• Rouge/Crocus/Colcothar - ferric oxide, formed by burning green vitriol in air.

• Gum Arabic - gum from the Acacia tree.
• Gypsum - A mineral; calcium sulfate.
• Horn silver/Argentum Cornu - 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.
• Lead fume - lead oxide, found in flues at lead smelters.
• Lime/Quicklime (Burnt Lime)/Calx Viva/Unslaked Lime - calcium oxide, formed by cooking limestone.

• Slaked Lime - calcium hydroxide.

• Lunar caustic/lapis infernalis - silver nitrate, formed by dissolving silver in aqua fortis and evaporating.
• Liver of sulphur - formed by fusing potash and sulphur.
• Lye - potash in a water solution, formed by leaching wood ashes.

• Potash/Salt of Tartar - potassium carbonate, formed by evaporating lye.
• Pearlash - formed by baking potash in a kiln.

• Massicot - lead monoxide.

• Litharge - lead monoxide, formed by fusing and powdering massicot.
• Minium/Red Lead - trilead tetroxide, formed by roasting litharge in air.
• Naples yellow/Cassel yellow - oxychloride of lead, formed by heating litharge with sal ammoniac.

• Milk of Sulphur (lac sulphuris) - formed by adding an acid to thion hudor.
• Mercurius praecipitatus - red mercuric oxide.
• Mosaic Gold - stannic sulfide, formed by heating a mixture of tin filings, sulphur and sal-ammoniac.
• Natron - sodium carbonate.
• Nitrum Flammans - ammonium nitrate.
• Oil of Vitriol/Spirit of Vitriol - sulphuric acid, a weak version can be formed by heating green vitriol and blue vitriol.
• Orpiment - arsenic trisulfide, an ore of arsenic.
• Pearl white - nitrate of bismuth.
• 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.
• Salt/Common Salt - A mineral; sodium chloride, formed by evaporating sea-water (impure form).
• Soda/Soda Ash - sodium carbonate.
• Spirit of box/Pyroxylic Spirit - distillation of wood alcohol.
• Spirit of Hartshorn - ammonia, formed by the decomposition of sal-ammoniac by unslaked lime.
• Spirit 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.
• Thion Hudor - 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 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 pigment.
• White vitriol - zinc sulfate, formed by lixiviating roasted zinc blende.
• Venetian White - formed from equal parts of white lead and barium sulphate.
• Zaffre - impure cobalt arsenate, formed after roasting cobalt ore.
• Zinc Blende - zinc sulfide.