{{Short description|Chemical compound that contains exactly two different elements}} {{confuse|Two-phase (disambiguation)}} thumb|Sodium chloride is a famous binary phase. It features two elements: Na and Cl.
In materials chemistry, a '''binary phase''' or '''binary compound''' is a chemical compound containing two different elements. Some binary phase compounds are molecular, e.g. carbon tetrachloride (CCl<sub>4</sub>). More typically binary phase refers to extended solids. Famous examples zinc sulfide, which contains zinc and sulfur, and tungsten carbide, which contains tungsten and carbon.<ref name=earnshaw>{{Greenwood&Earnshaw2nd}}</ref>
Phases with higher degrees of complexity feature more elements, e.g. three elements in ternary phases, four elements in quaternary phases. These phases exhibit a higher degree of complexity due to the interaction of these elements at different conditions. ==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Binary Compound}} Category:Chemical compounds Category:Binary compounds
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