This guide is intended to help you to locate physical, chemical and thermodynamic properties of various materials, particularly small-molecule organic and inorganic substances, and to understand where these data have been published and in what contexts. The tools and databases can be quite complex, so there's a lot of detail here. As always, be sure to ask if you need help with a specific search.
Almost every search for a common chemical property of a small-molecule substance should begin in the CRC. The current web edition contains searchable interactive data tables as well as an internal database of chemical compounds and structures with basic chemical and physical data points. There is also full text in HTML and PDF formats.
A first-stop reference source containing a wealth of basic chemical and physical data for compounds, as well as many other useful tables, constants and formulas, and definitions in the physical sciences.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics [Print]
Publication Date: Annual
The latest print editions can be found in the Chemistry reference collection. In the printed handbook, consult the index under the property in question. (Starting with the 2018 edition, the print version is significantly abridged compared to the online version.)
The Design Institute for Physical Property Data (DIPPR) Project 801 database consists of experimental data and correlations of temperature-dependent properties for over 1,800 pure chemicals, mostly organic, with a couple hundred inorganic as well. Collected data have been evaluated, correlated, and checked for thermodynamic consistency. From this site, you can view data sets, DIPPR-approved property constants, and regressed correlation coefficients for temperature-dependent properties, as well as calculate temperature-dependent properties in any set of units. Searchable by chemical name, CAS registry number, molecular and structural formulas, and numeric property ranges. (Funding for DIPPR is courtesy of the Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Contact the Chemistry Librarian for our logon ID and password.)
This interactive site contains tables of physical, solvent, and thermodynamic properties. The physical property tables include over 21,000 inorganic and organic compounds. Some tables make use of an interactive Equation Plotter to plot thermodynamic properties as a function of temperature. Data are sourced from public web sites and non-copyrighted publications, and reviewed by Knovel staff.
Reliable thermophysical and spectral data for a few thousand important compounds. Much of the data is derived from prior NIST/NBS publications. Searchable by name, CAS registry number, formula, molecular weight, etc.
The TRC Thermodynamic Tables database (WTT) offers a collection of critically evaluated thermodynamic property data for over 23,000 pure organic compounds. Searchable by name/segment, formula, and molecular weight. Recommended values can be plotted (Adobe Flash plugin required). Note: Currently this tool is not accessible via the Library Proxy Server, so access is possible only from computers on the campus network.
A vast amount of factual data for chemical compounds derived from the historical Beilstein and Gmelin handbooks, and more recently gathered from the journal and patent literature.
Database of millions of organic, inorganic and organometallic compounds and millions of organic reactions drawn from the chemical literature, searchable by structure, substructure, reaction scheme, identification information and property data values.
CAS has added an array of property data to substance records in the Registry database. There is a tab for experimental properties, with corresponding references to the source literature for each. An array of calculated (predicted) properties, primarily of pharmaceutical interest, are available for most Registry substances as well. Start in the Explore Substances tab, search for a compound by structure, name/synonym, molecular formula, or CAS Registry number, and then click on the Substance Detail link. You can also search for substances directly using property values, or enter values to refine an existing substance answer set.
Updated daily. Requires users to register with a utexas.edu email account. Provides integrated access to the Chemical Abstracts suite of databases with millions of bibliographic records covering the worldwide chemical literature, including patents; as well as over 100 million substance records, with chemical structures, names, synonyms, and associated property data; plus millions of searchable organic reactions. Search by topic, author, chemical identification terms (names, formulas, Registry Numbers), and chemical structures.
This database covers physical and transport properties of many inorganic, metallic, and composite materials. (CINDAS)
Updated regularly. Covers 60 properties of nearly 5000 inorganic, metal, and composite materials and alloys, totaling nearly 50,000 data curves and 21,000 data sets. Browse or search by material or property.
ThermoDex is a finding aid for more than 300 specialized property handbooks and compilations, searchable by type of compound and name of property. Since most of the compilations indexed in ThermoDex are in printed form, they must be consulted in the library.
