Selenium oxybromide ( Se O Br₂) is a

selenium Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal (more rarely considered a metalloid) with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and telluriu ...

oxohalide In chemistry, molecular oxohalides (oxyhalides) are a group of chemical compounds in which both oxygen and halogen atoms are attached to another chemical element A in a single molecule. They have the general formula , where X = fluorine (F), chlor ...

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 ele ...

Preparation

Selenium oxybromide can be prepared through the reaction of

selenium dioxide Selenium dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula SeO2. This colorless solid is one of the most frequently encountered compounds of selenium. Properties Solid SeO2 is a one-dimensional polymer, the chain consisting of alternating seleni ...

and selenium tetrabromide. Selenium and selenium dioxide are reacted with

bromine Bromine is a chemical element with the symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is the third-lightest element in group 17 of the periodic table (halogens) and is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a simil ...

to form selenium monobromide and selenium tetrabromide. Dissolving the selenium dioxide in the tetrabromide will produce the oxybromide. :2 Se + Br₂ → Se₂Br₂ :Se₂Br₂ + 3 Br₂ → 2 SeBr₄ :SeBr₄ + SeO₂ → 2 SeOBr₂

Structure

Evidence from

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...

and polarized Raman spectroscopy suggests that selenium oxybromide adopts a pyramidal molecular geometry with ''C''_s symmetry, like other chalcogen(IV) oxohalides such as thionyl bromide () and selenium oxydichloride ().

Properties

Selenium oxybromide is a reddish-brown solid with a low melting point (41.6 °C) and chemical properties similar to

selenium oxychloride Selenium oxydichloride is the inorganic compound In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is ...

. It boils at 220 °C and decomposes near the boiling point, making distillation an ineffective purification method. Its

electrical conductivity Electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance or volume resistivity) is a fundamental property of a material that measures how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allows ...

in the liquid state just above the melting temperature is 6×10⁻⁵ S/m. SeOBr₂ is

hydrolyzed Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water is the nucleophile. Biological hydrolysis ...

by water to form H₂SeO₃ and HBr. SeOBr₂ is highly reactive, with most reactions taking place in the liquid state. Selenium will dissolve in it, forming Se₂Br₂. Iron, copper, gold, platinum, and zinc are all attacked by SeOBr₂.

References

Selenium(IV) compounds Oxobromides {{inorganic-compound-stub