text: These species feature elements from groups I, II, III, IV, V,VI, VII, 0 (excluding hydrogen) of the periodic table.  Due to their often similar reactivity, the elements in group 3 (Sc, Y, and La) and group 12 (Zn, Cd, and Hg) are also generally included, and the lanthanides and actinides are sometimes included as well.
  Main group compounds have been known since the beginnings of chemistry, e.g., elemental sulfur and the distillable white phosphorus.  Experiments on oxygen, O, by Lavoisier and Priestley not only identified an important diatomic gas, but opened the way for describing compounds and reactions according to stoichiometric ratios.  The discovery of a practical synthesis of ammonia using iron catalysts by Carl Bosch and Fritz Haber in the early 1900s deeply impacted mankind, demonstrating the significance of inorganic chemical synthesis.
  Typical main group compounds are SiO, SnCl, and NO.  Many main group compounds can also be classed as "organometallic", as they contain organic groups, e.g., B(CH)).  Main group compounds also occur in nature, e.g., phosphate in DNA, and therefore may be classed as bioinorganic.  Conversely, organic compounds lacking (many) hydrogen ligands can be classed as "inorganic", such as the fullerenes, buckytubes and binary carbon oxides.
  * Examples: tetrasulfur tetranitride SN, diborane BH, silicones, buckminsterfullerene C.
  Noble gas compounds include several derivatives of xenon and krypton.
  * Examples: xenon hexafluoride XeF, xenon trioxide XeO, and krypton difluoride KrF