Title: partition coefficient
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - partition coefficient
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.P04437
Status: current

Definition
This term is not recommended and should not be used as a synonym for partition constant, partition ratio or distribution ratio.

Related Terms
- distribution constant: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/D01813
- distribution ratio: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/D01817
- partition constant: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/P04438
- partition ratio: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/P04440

Sources
- PAC, 1993, 65, 2373. 'Nomenclature for liquid-liquid distribution (solvent extraction) (IUPAC Recommendations 1993)' on page 2385 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199365112373)
- PAC, 1996, 68, 957. 'Glossary of terms in quantities and units in Clinical Chemistry (IUPAC-IFCC Recommendations 1996)' on page 986 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199668040957)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04437/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04437/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04437/xml

Citation: Citation: 'partition coefficient' 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.P04437
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-04-27T16:00:47+00:00