How to Search Compounds by Elements: A Complete Guide

Step-by-Step Guide to Element-Based Search

Step 1: Navigate to the Periodic Table

When you visit CompoundLookup, you'll see an interactive periodic table on the compounds page. Each element is color-coded by its category.

Step 2: Select Your Elements

Click on any element to select it. You can select up to 5 elements at a time. Selected elements will be highlighted and appear in the selection bar above the table.

• Select H and O to find water and other hydrogen-oxygen compounds
• Select C, H, and O to find organic compounds like alcohols and sugars
• Select Fe and O to find iron oxides

Step 3: View Compounds

Click the "View Compounds" button to see all compounds containing your selected elements. Results include:

• Molecular formula
• IUPAC name
• Common names
• Molecular weight
• Direct link to PubChem for more details

Step 4: Explore and Paginate

For popular element combinations, you may find hundreds or thousands of compounds. Use the pagination to browse through all results.

Pro Tips

• Tip 1: Start Broad, Then Narrow – Begin with 2 elements to see the full range of possibilities, then add more elements to narrow down results.
• Tip 2: Use Single Elements – Selecting just one element shows ALL compounds containing that element.
• Tip 3: Check Related Combinations – On each results page, we show related element combinations in the sidebar.