Anion

An anion is an ion with negative charge.

When naming compounds, the anion is always named last and the cation first. A monatomic anion is named by taking the first part of the element name and adding -ide. For example, the anion of the element nitrogen, N^3-, is called nitride.

Nonmetals are more likely to form anions because they have a tendency to gain electrons.

Examples

• hydride ion, H^-
• oxide ion, O^2-
• chloride ion, Cl^-

See category for a longer list.

Also see oxyanion.