Bismuth(III) sulfide () is a
chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...
of
bismuth
Bismuth is a chemical element; it has symbol Bi and atomic number 83. It is a post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens, with chemical properties resembling its lighter group 15 siblings arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth occurs nat ...
and
sulfur
Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...
. It occurs in nature as the mineral
bismuthinite.
Synthesis
Bismuth(III) sulfide can be prepared by reacting a bismuth(III)
salt
In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
with
hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is toxic, corrosive, and flammable. Trace amounts in ambient atmosphere have a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. Swedish chemist ...
:
:
Bismuth (III) sulfide can also be prepared by the reaction of elemental bismuth and elemental sulfur in an evacuated silica tube at 500 °C for 96 hours.
:
Properties
Bismuth(III) sulfide is
isostructural with
stibnite
Stibnite, sometimes called antimonite, is a sulfide mineral, a mineral form of antimony trisulfide ( Sb2 S3). It is a soft, metallic grey crystalline solid with an orthorhombic space group. It is the most important source for the metalloid an ...
(stibnite is one of the forms of
antimony(III) sulfide). Bismuth atoms are in two different environments, both of which have 7 coordinate Bismuth atoms, 4 in a near planar rectangle and three more distant making an irregular 7-coordination group.
It can react with acids to produce the odoriferous
hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is toxic, corrosive, and flammable. Trace amounts in ambient atmosphere have a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. Swedish chemist ...
gas.
Bismuth(III) sulfide may be produced in the body by the reaction of the common gastrointestinal drug
bismuth subsalicylate
Bismuth subsalicylate, sold generically as pink bismuth and under brand names including Pepto-Bismol, Pepti-Calm, and BisBacter, is a medication used to treat temporary discomfort of the stomach and gastrointestinal tract. This includes an upset ...
with naturally occurring sulfides; this causes temporary
black tongue when the sulfides are in the mouth and black feces when the sulfides are in the colon.
Uses
It is used as a starting material to produce many other bismuth compounds.
[Pradyot Patnaik. ''Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals''. McGraw-Hill, 2002, ]
References
{{Sulfides
Bismuth sulfide
Sesquisulfides