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Copper(I) sulfide is a
copper sulfide Copper sulfides describe a family of chemical compounds and minerals with the formula CuxSy. Both minerals and synthetic materials comprise these compounds. Some copper sulfides are economically important ores. Prominent copper sulfide minerals ...
, a chemical compound of
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish- ...
and
sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...
. It has the chemical compound Cu2S. It is found in nature as the mineral
chalcocite Chalcocite (), copper(I) sulfide (Cu2S), is an important copper ore mineral. It is opaque and dark gray to black, with a metallic luster. It has a hardness of 2.5–3 on the Mohs scale. It is a sulfide with a monoclinic crystal system. T ...
. It has a narrow range of stoichiometry ranging from Cu1.997S to Cu2.000S.


Preparation and reactions

Cu2S can be prepared by heating copper strongly in sulfur vapour or H2S. The reaction of copper powder in molten sulfur rapidly produces Cu2S, whereas pellets of copper require much higher temperature. Cu2S reacts with oxygen to form SO2:Wiberg, Egon and Holleman, Arnold Frederick (2001) ''Inorganic Chemistry'', Elsevier :2 Cu2S + 3 O2 → 2 Cu2O + 2 SO2 In the production of copper two thirds of the molten copper sulfide is oxidised as above, and the Cu2O reacts with unoxidised Cu2S to give Cu metal: : Cu2S + 2 Cu2O → 6 Cu + SO2


Structure

There are two forms of Cu2S: a low temperature monoclinic form ("low-chalcocite") which has a complex structure with 96 copper atoms in the unit cell and a hexagonal form stable above 104 °C.Wells A.F. (1984) ''Structural Inorganic Chemistry'', 5th ed., Oxford Science Publications, In this structure there are 24 crystallographically distinct Cu atoms and the structure has been described as approximating to a hexagonal close packed array of sulfur atoms with Cu atoms in planar 3 coordination. This structure was initially assigned an orthorhombic cell due to the twinning of the sample crystal. There is also a crystallographically-distinct phase (the mineral
djurleite Djurleite is a copper sulfide mineral of secondary origin with formula Cu31S16 that crystallizes with monoclinic-prismatic symmetry. It is typically massive in form, but does at times develop thin tabular to prismatic crystals. It occurs with oth ...
) with stoichiometry Cu1.96S which is
non-stoichiometric In chemistry, non-stoichiometric compounds are chemical compounds, almost always solid inorganic compounds, having elemental composition whose proportions cannot be represented by a ratio of small natural numbers (i.e. an empirical formula); mo ...
(range Cu1.934S-Cu1.965S) and has a monoclinic structure with 248 copper and 128 sulfur atoms in the unit cell. Cu2S and Cu1.96S are similar in appearance and hard to distinguish one from another.


See also

*
Copper sulfide Copper sulfides describe a family of chemical compounds and minerals with the formula CuxSy. Both minerals and synthetic materials comprise these compounds. Some copper sulfides are economically important ores. Prominent copper sulfide minerals ...
for an overview of all copper sulfide phases *
Copper monosulfide Copper monosulfide is a chemical compound of copper and sulfur. It was initially thought to occur in nature as the dark indigo blue mineral covellite. However, it was later shown to be rather a cuprous compound, formula Cu+3S(S2).Liang, W., Whang ...
, CuS *
Chalcocite Chalcocite (), copper(I) sulfide (Cu2S), is an important copper ore mineral. It is opaque and dark gray to black, with a metallic luster. It has a hardness of 2.5–3 on the Mohs scale. It is a sulfide with a monoclinic crystal system. T ...
*
Djurleite Djurleite is a copper sulfide mineral of secondary origin with formula Cu31S16 that crystallizes with monoclinic-prismatic symmetry. It is typically massive in form, but does at times develop thin tabular to prismatic crystals. It occurs with oth ...


References

{{Sulfides Sulfide minerals Sulfides Copper(I) compounds Non-stoichiometric compounds ja:硫化銅 tr:Bakır(I) sülfür