quaternary ammonium compound
nounChemistry.
any of a class of salts derived from ammonium in which the nitrogen atom is attached to four organic groups, as in benzalkonium chloride; the salts are cationic surface-active compounds used as antiseptics and disinfectants.
Origin of quaternary ammonium compound
1First recorded in 1815–25
- Also called quaternary ammonium salt .
Words Nearby quaternary ammonium compound
- quat.
- quater
- quatercentenary
- quatercentennial
- quaternary
- quaternary ammonium compound
- quaternary structure
- quaternate
- quaternion
- quaternity
- Quathlamba
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for quaternary ammonium compound
quaternary ammonium compound
noun
a type of ionic compound that can be regarded as derived from ammonium compounds by replacing the hydrogen atoms with organic groups
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse