In chemistry, a salt is a chemical compound consisting of an ionic assembly of cations and anions.[1] Salts are composed of related numbers of cations (positively charged ions) and anions (negatively charged ions) so that the product is electrically neutral (without a net charge). These component ions can be inorganic, such as chloride (Cl−), or organic, such as acetate (CH
3CO−
2); and can be monatomic, such as fluoride (F−) or polyatomic, such as sulfate (SO2−
