Simple Search

Use chemical names or key identification numbers (CAS numberOr CAS #. Chemical Abstracts Service Registry number. This chemical identification number, in the format XXX-XX-X, is assigned by the American Chemical Society (www.cas.org/support/documentation/chemical-substances/faqs). or UN/NA numberUnited Nations-North American number. (Also UN number or DOT number.) Four-digit number identifying an individual chemical or group of chemicals with similar characteristics. Required on shipping papers; often shown on placards. The four-digit number is often preceded by UN (such as UN1219).) to find a chemical of interest using a simple search. What if I don't have this information?

Note: You can only search on one criteria at a time in a simple search. (Run an advanced search when you need to use additional criteria.)

Running a Simple Search

  1. In the sidebar, click New Search. (On the home page, you also can click Search.)
  2. Type your search criteriaName, identification number, and/or other identifying information for a chemical. into one of the search fields:
    • Name: Type in a full or partial name; see Chemical Name Search Tips for examples. The name search will look for matches on all three types of datasheets: chemical datasheets (that matched on chemical names or alternate chemical names), UN/NA datasheets (that matched on material names from the Emergency Response Guidebook or proper shipping names from 49 CFRCode of Federal Regulations (www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/cfr/). 172.101), and reactive group datasheets (that matched on reactive groupReactive groups are categories of chemicals that typically react in similar ways because they are similar in their chemical structure. For purposes of predicting reactivity between mixed chemicals, each substance in CAMEO Chemicals has been assigned to one or more reactive groups, based on the known chemistry of that substance. names).
    • CAS number: Type in a complete CAS number (dashes optional) to search for matches on chemical datasheets. For example, entering either 7782-50-5 or 7782505 will find the chlorine chemical datasheet.
    • UN/NA number: Type in a complete, 4-digit UN/NA number to search for matches on UN/NA datasheets. For example, entering 1017 will find the UN/NA datasheet for chlorine.
  3. Click the Search button next to your search criteria. See example of searching by a chemical nameSee example of searching by a chemical name

    The search below is for a substance that has "boron tri" in its name.

    A simple name search for "boron tri".

  4. For UN/NA number searches, you'll be taken directly to  the matching UN/NA datasheet. (At the top of the UN/NA datasheet, you can click on a link to find all of the chemical datasheets with that UN/NA number.) For name and CAS number searches, a list of datasheets that match your search criteria is displayed with a brief abstract describing each datasheet.  Click on the name at the top of any abstract (or click on the View Datasheet button) to go to the full datasheet to see more information. What if my search finds no matches or too many matches?

Here's an example of the results of a name search for "Boron tri".

The search criteria (name contains "boron tri") matched 24 datasheets.

Multi-Word Simple Name Searches

For multi-word simple name searches (such as boron tri), CAMEO Chemicals will perform several searches for you simultaneously.

  • Primarily, it will find the datasheets whose names include ALL of the words in your search criteria. It doesn't matter if the names include the words in the same order as your search terms (e.g., boron tribromide) or in a different order (e.g., trichloroboron). The full list of matching datasheets is shown on the search results page with a brief abstract describing each datasheet.
  • Additionally, CAMEO Chemicals will search on each term individually, which can be helpful if your multi-word search criteria doesn't match on any datasheets. The section at the top of the search results page includes a breakdown of the search results as a phrase and for each individual word in the phrase. You can click on the links next to the single-word results to see the list of datasheets that contain that word in the name.