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International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

Logo: International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

NGO enabling communication about chemistry

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is a member of the International Science Council (ISC). IUPAC is registered in Zürich, Switzerland, and its administrative office, known as the "IUPAC Secretariat", is in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1919Founded1
  • Industryhigher education1
  • HeadquartersZurich1
  • Websiteiupac.org

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The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is a member of the International Science Council (ISC). IUPAC is registered in Zürich, Switzerland, and its administrative office, known as the "IUPAC Secretariat", is in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States.2

Corporate structure

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry sits at the top of its group. 5 entities on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Zurich
    • Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights Subsidiary
    • International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Commission on the Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry Subsidiary
    • International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Division of Chemical Nomenclature and Structure Representation Subsidiary
    • IUPAC/IUPAP Joint Working Party Subsidiary

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The need for an international standard for chemistry was first addressed in 1860 by a committee headed by German scientist Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz. This committee was the first international conference to create an international naming system for organic compounds. The ideas that were formulated at that conference evolved into the official IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry. IUPAC is a legacy of this meeting, making it one of the most important historical international collaborations of chemistry societies. IUPAC as such was established in 1919.Since this time, IUPAC has been the official organization with the responsibility of updating and maintaining official organic nomenclature.

One notable country excluded from early IUPAC was Germany. Germany's exclusion was a result of prejudice towards it by the Allied powers after World War I. Germany was finally admitted into IUPAC in 1929. However, Nazi Germany was removed from IUPAC during World War II. At this time, IUPAC was affiliated with the Allied powers, but had little involvement with the war effort itself. East and West Germany were only readmitted to IUPAC in 1973. Since World War II, IUPAC has focused on standardizing nomenclature and methods in science.

In 2016, IUPAC denounced the use of chlorine as a chemical weapon. In a letter to Ahmet Üzümcü, director of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the organization pointed out their concerns in regards to chlorine weapon usage in the Syrian civil war and other places

. The letter stated, "Our organizations deplore the use of chlorine in this manner. The indiscriminate attacks, possibly carried out by a member state of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), are of concern to chemical scientists and engineers around the globe and we stand ready to support your mission of implementing the CWC." According to the CWC, "the use, stockpiling, distribution, development or storage of any chemical weapons is forbidden by any of the 192 state party signatories."

From Wikipedia’s article on International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

  • Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights
  • IUPAC/IUPAP Joint Working Party
  • International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Commission on the Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry
  • International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Division of Chemical Nomenclature and Structure Representation

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1919Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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