Title: char
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - char
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.C00974
Status: current

Definition
A solid decompostion product of a natural or synthetic organic material.

Note
If the precursor has not passed through a fluid stage, char will retain the characteristic shape of the precursor (although becoming of smaller size). For such materials the term 'pseudomorphous' has been used. Some simple organic compounds, e.g. sugar, melt at an early stage of decomposition and then polymerize during carbonization to produce chars.

Related Terms
- carbonization: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/C00840
- decomposition: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/D01547

Source
- PAC, 1995, 67, 473. 'Recommended terminology for the description of carbon as a solid (IUPAC Recommendations 1995)' on page 484 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199567030473)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C00974/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C00974/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C00974/xml

Citation: Citation: 'char' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.C00974
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Accessed: 2026-05-12T01:07:31+00:00