Chemistry Abbreviations Starting with the Letter P

Abbreviations and Acronyms Used in Chemistry

Lead (Chemical Element)
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by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
Updated March 06, 2017

Chemistry abbreviations and acronyms are common in all fields of science. This collection offers common abbreviations and acronyms beginning with the letter P used in chemistry and chemical engineering.

P - Peta
P - Phosphorus
p - pico
P - Pressure
P - Proton
PA - Phosphatidic Acid
Pa - Pascal
Pa - Protactinium
PA - Proton Affinity
PA # - PolyAmide polymer number
PAA - PolyAcrylic Acid
PABA - ParaAminoBenzoic Acid
PAC - Pharmaceutically Active Compound
PAC - Polycyclic Aromatic Content
PAC - Powdered Activated Carbon
PAEK - PolyArylEtherKetone
PAGE - PolyAcrylamide Gel Electrophoresis
PAH - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon
PAI - PolyAmide Imide
PAO - PolyAlphaOlefin
PASA - PolyAmide, Semi-Aromatic
Pb - Lead
PB - PolyButylene
PBB - PolyBrominated Biphenyl
PBD - PolyButaDiene
PBI - PolyBenzImidazole
PBN - PolyButylene Naphthalate
PBS - Phosphate Buffered Saline
PBT - PolyButylene Terephthalate
PC - PolyCarbonate
PC - Pyruvate Carboxylase
PCA - Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid
PCC - Pyridine Chloro Chromate
PCE - Tetrachloroethylene
PCR - Polymerase Chain Reaction
PCV - Pressure Control Valve
Pd - Palladium
PD - Positive Displacement
PD - Potential Difference
PE - PhycoErythrin
PE - Polyethylene
PE - Potential Energy
PEA - PolyEster Amine
PEEK - PolyEtherEtherKetone
PEG - PolyEthylene Glycol
PEK - Poly Ether Ketone
PEL - Permissible Exposure Limit
PERC - Tetrachloroethylene
PES - PolyEtherSulfone
PET - PolyEthylene Terephthalate
PETP - PolyEthyleneTerePhthalate
PEX - Cross-linked PolyEthylene
PFC - Perfluorocarbon
pg - picogram
PG - Propylene Glycol
PG - Prostaglandin
PGA - 3-PhosphoGlyceric Acid
PGA - PolyGlutamic Acid
PGE - Platinum Group Elements
PGM - Platinum Group Metals
pH - measurement of H+ ions in aqueous solution
PH - Phenol functional group
PHA - PolyHydroxyAlkanoate
PHB - PolyHydroxyButyrate
PHC - Petroleum HydroCarbon
PHMB - PolyHexaMethyleneBiguanide
PHT - PHThalate
PI - Phosphate Ion
PI - PolyImide
PIB - PolyIsoButylene
pK - measurement of the dissociation constant
PLA - Polymerized Lactic Acid
PLC - PhosphoLipase-C
PM3 - Parameterized Model number 3
PM10 - Particulates smaller than 10 μm.


PM - Particulate Matter
PM - Photo Multiplier
pm - picometer
PM - Plasma Membrane
PM - Powder Metallurgy
Pm - Promethium
PMA - PhosphoMolybdic Acid
PMA - PolyMethyl Acrylate
PMID - PubMed IDentifier
PMMA - PolyMethylMethAcrylate
PMO - PolyMethylene Oxide
PNPA - PolyNucleotide Phosphorylase A
PNPB - PolyNucleotide Phosphorylase B
Po - Polonium
POC - Polar Organic Contaminant
pOH - measurement of OH- ions in aqueous solution
POL - Petroleum, Oils, and Lubricants
POP - Persistent Organic Pollutant
PORC - Porcelain
PPA -PhenylPropanolAmine
PPA - PolyPhthalAmide
PPB - Parts Per Billion
PPM - Parts Per Million
PPO - PolyPhenylene Oxide
PPS - PolyPhenylene Sulfide
PPT - Parts Per Trillion
PPT - PolyPyrimidine Tract
PPT - Precipitate
Pr - Praseodymium
PRV - Pressure Relief Valve
PSI - Pounds per Square Inch
PSV - Pressure Safety Valve
Pt - Platinum
PTFE - PolyTetraFluoroEthylene
Pu - Plutonium
PU - PolyUrethane
PV - Parity Violation
PV - Pressure Volume
PVC - PolyVinyl Chloride
PVT - Pressure, Volume, Temperature
PXY - Para-XYlene