The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry is an international, scientific, non-government that aims to improve the application of chemistry to mankind.
IUPAC was formed in 1919 by industry chemists and academia who recognised the need for international standardisation in chemistry, which would contribute to the continued success of science and the development of international trade.
IUPAC are considered the world authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology, standardised methods of measurement, atomic weights and other critical chemical data. The Union continues to sponsor a variety of international meetings from specialised symposia to CHEMRAWN meetings that examine the social impact of chemistry. IUPAC have also undertaken an extensive array of environmental projects on topics sich as environmental chemistry and polymer recycling. IUPAC publish many books relating to chemical nomenclature including:
- Chemical Terminology (gold)
- Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry (green)
- Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry (red)
- Nomenclature of Organic Compounds (blue)
- Macromolecular Nomenclature (purple)
- Analytical Nomenclature (orange)
- Nomenclature and Symbols in Clinical Chemistry (silver)