OCLC, edited

A number of librarians have asked how to search chemical compounds in the INSPEC database on the OCLC FirstSearch system.

The most basic way is by chemical or compound name, e.g., gallium. This works best for organic compounds, which tend to be referred to by name rather than by formula in the literature covered by INSPEC, and for general searches. For more specific searches and inorganic compounds, chemical indexing is the best way. Since this field is not implemented on FirstSearch, the best approach is to search in the identifier field. INSPEC indexes compounds relevant to the content of the article in this field and generally uses the forumla name if given in the article. This allows for very precise searches.

For example, to search for the compound caesium (Ce(sub)3Sn), try the following search strategy: id:(ce w sub w 3 w sn). This should retrieve "Ce3Sn," though it may also retrieve "Ce3SN7."

(Note: On October 1, 1998, the INSPEC database became a subscription-only database at the request of the publisher.)