Sodium hydroselenide is an

inorganic compound An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds⁠that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemistry''. Inorgan ...

with the

chemical formula A chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as pare ...

. It is a

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 ...

hydrogen selenide Hydrogen selenide is an inorganic compound with the formula H2Se. This hydrogen chalcogenide is the simplest and most commonly encountered hydride of selenium. H2Se is a colorless, flammable gas under standard conditions. It is the most toxic se ...

. It consists of

sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

cations An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

and hydroselenide

anions An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

. Each unit consists of one sodium, one

selenium Selenium is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elem ...

, and one

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

atom. Sodium hydroselenide is a selenium analog of

sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly corrosive base (chemistry), ...

NaOH.

Production

Sodium hydroselenide can be made by reducing

with

sodium borohydride Sodium borohydride, also known as sodium tetrahydridoborate and sodium tetrahydroborate, is an inorganic compound with the formula (sometimes written as ). It is a white crystalline solid, usually encountered as an aqueous basic solution. Sodi ...

: : Alternatively it can be made from

sodium ethoxide Sodium ethoxide, also referred to as sodium ethanolate, is the Ionic compound, ionic, organic compound with the formula , , or NaOEt (Et = ethyl group, ethyl). It is a white solid, although impure samples appear yellow or brown. It dissolves in p ...

exposed to

: : Sodium hydroselenide is not made for storage, instead it is used immediately after production in a

fume hood A fume hood (sometimes called a fume cupboard or fume closet, not to be confused with Extractor hood) is a type of local exhaust ventilation (architecture), ventilation device that is designed to prevent users from being exposed to hazardous f ...

thanks to the appalling odour of hydrogen selenide.

Properties

Sodium hydroselenide dissolves in water or ethanol. In humid air sodium hydroselenide is changed to sodium

polyselenide In chemistry, a polyselenide usually refers to anions of the formula (Sen)2−, where Se is the Chemical symbol, atomic symbol for the element selenium. Many main group and transition metals form complexes with polyselenide anions. Preparation Co ...

and elemental selenium. Sodium hydroselenide is slightly reducing.

Use

In organic synthesis, hydrogen sodium hydroselenide is a nucleophillic agent for insertion of selenium.

References

Sodium compounds Selenides {{inorganic-compound-stub