Elements of paper

I learnt that everything is made up of atoms even paper! After that, I was thinking what are the elements that made paper? Is there any chemical symbol for paper in general?




There is no chemical symbol for paper since it is not an element but rather a mixture of several different compounds.


Remember that paper is made out of trees. Thus, paper is made mostly out of organic compounds: that is carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (C, H and O). Paper also contains non organic materials to improve its properties. These may be chalk (CaCO3) and kaolin clay (Al2Si2O5(OH)4). Titanium oxide (TiO2) is also commonly used in paper for bleaching it.


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