Term: charcoal
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C00986

Definition:
A traditional term for a char obtained from wood, peat, coal or some related natural organic materials.

Note: Charcoal has highly reactive inner surfaces and a low sulfur content. It has or has had, therefore, a variety of uses, e.g. in ferrous metallurgy and for gunpowder (minor uses: medical purposes and paint materials).

Related Terms:
1) char (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C00974).

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)

Citation: 'charcoal' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C00986

License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.

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.