What element/compounds are used in the melting of ice?

The temperature of the air, pavement, and the type of ice-melt compound used will affect the rate at which the ice melts. There are many different ice-melt compounds available from traditional rock salt (sodium chloride) to ice-melt pellets (calcium chloride).

nacl or sodium chloride is an ionic compound. this is because an ionic compound pertains to a compound that consists of positively and negatively charged ions. in this case, na (sodium) has a tendency to lose one electron when it reacts with with other atoms, so the resulting sodium ion contains 11 protons and 10 electrons, thus making it positively charged (na+), when chlorine reacts, it usually gains one electron to form an ion called chloride, thus making it negatively charged ( since the ions are oppositely charged, they attract.