Salt (chemistry)

In chemistry, a salt is a chemical compound consisting of an ionic assembly of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, which results in a compound with no net electric charge.[1] A common example is table salt, with positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged chloride ions.

The component ions in a salt compound can be either inorganic, such as chloride (Cl⁻), or organic, such as acetate (CH
₃COO⁻
). Each ion can be either monatomic, such as fluoride (F⁻), or polyatomic, such as sulfate (SO²⁻
₄).