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Hydrogen selenide

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Hydrogen selenide
Hydrogen selenide
General
Systematic name Hydrogen selenide
Other names Hydroselenic acid
selane
selenium hydride
Molecular formula H2Se
Molar mass 80.9758 g/mol
Appearance Colorless gas.
CAS number 7783-07-5
Properties
Density and phase 3.310 g/l, gas.
Solubility in water 0.70 g/100 mL
Melting point -65.73°C (207.42 K)
Boiling point -41.25°C (231.9 K)
Acidity (pKa) See Text
Structure
Molecular shape Planar.
Dipole moment ? D
Hazards
MSDS External MSDS
Main hazards Highly toxic, highly
flammable, corrosive
NFPA 704 Template:Nfpa
Flash point ?°C
R/S statement R: Template:R11, Template:R24, Template:R26
S: ?
RTECS number X1050000
Supplementary data page
Structure and
properties
n, εr, etc.
Thermodynamic
data
Phase behaviour
Solid, liquid, gas
Spectral data UV, IR, NMR, MS
Related compounds
Other anions Hydrogen fluoride
hydrogen chloride
hydrogen bromide
hydrogen iodide
Other cations ?
Related compounds ?
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for
materials in their standard state (at 25°C, 100 kPa)
Infobox disclaimer and references


Hydrogen selenide is H2Se, the simplest hydride of selenium. H2Se is a colorless, flammable gas under standard conditions. It is the most toxic selenium compound with an exposure limit: 0.3 ppm over an 8 hour period.

Structure

H2Se adopts a "bent" structure with a H-Se-H bond angle of 91°. Consistent with this structure, three IR-active vibrational bands are observed: 2358, 2345, and 1034 cm-1.

Properties

The properties of H2S and H2Se are somewhat similar, although the selenide is more acidic with pKa = 3.89, and the second pKa = 11.0 at 25°C. Reflecting its acidity, H2Se is soluble in water.

Preparation

H2Se can be purchased in cylinders. A number of routes to H2Se have been reported, which are suitable for both large and small scale preparations.

  • H2Se is usually prepared by the action of water on Al2Se3, concomitant with formation of hydrated alumina. A related reaction involves the acid hydrolysis of FeSe.
Al2Se3 + 6 H2O ⇌ 2 Al(OH)3 + 6 H2Se
  • According to the Sonoda method, H2Se is generated from the reactionof H2O and CO on Se in the presence of Et3N.
  • H2Se can by synthesized by the direct reaction of H2 with elemental selenium at >350°C.

Selenium metal can be recovered from H2Se through a reaction with aqueous sulfur dioxide (SO2).

2 H2Se + SO2 ⇌ 2 H2O + Se + S

Applications

  • H2Se is commonly used in the synthesis of Se-containing compounds; it adds across alkenes. Illustrative is the synthesis of selenoureas from nitriles.

Selenourea reaction

  • H2Se gas is used to dope semiconductors with selenium.

References

  1. Patnaik, Pradyot Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals. McGraw-Hill Handbooks New York (2003).
  2. V.I. Cohen, Synthesis 1:60-3 (1980).
  3. Greenwood, N. N., Earnshaw, A. Chemistry of the Elements Second Ed. Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston (1997).
  4. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics Ed. 82. Chapman and Hall (2001-2002).
  • Feher, F. In "Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry"; Brauer, E., Ed.; Academic: New York, 1963; 1, p 418.
  • Sonoda, N.; Kondo K.; Nagano, K.; Kambe, N.; Morimoto, F. Angewandte Chemie, International Edition English 1980, vol. 19, page 308