Hi,
I need an appropriate solvent to dissolve selenium except acids and CS2. I'll be thankful for your suggestions.
Oxidation of elemental selenium leads to increased solubilization. Try to use selenite (SeO2−3), or selenate (SeO2−4).
You cannot dissolve elemental selenium. Also it is known that the cation (in the form of a salt with an acid) is not soluble enough. So what you end up with is the only choice of selenite or selenite. In the body it will do the jot that you expect undergoing enzymatic transformations.
Strange... the last time I did the experiment, red selenium dissolved in carbon disulfide... grey metallic selenium - a "semi-metal" - very stable, likely to be dissolved in strong acids under oxidization. It depends on the modification of Selenium. There are other modifications as well... Sorry.
Thank you both dear Dr, Blasko and Dr. Jensen.
but Dr. Jensen is there any solvent except acids and carbon disulfide?
Elemental selenium (several forms) can be dissolved in selenium(IV) oxychloride (SeOCl2). Amorphous selenium also dissolves in benzene. Metallic (grey) selenium is also soluble in chloroform.
Dear Dr. Queiroz i tried to dissolve grey selenium in chloroform but its totally insoluble.
Dear Dr. Steudel i want to dissolve selenium physically to synthesis salt of it.
Dear Leila Abdi:
Referring to your last post:
Please be cautious confirming the allotropic form of selenium samples (and its purity) ― glassy amorphous selenium (usually called 'black') can actually look grey, but should not be confused with metallic (grey) selenium.
Metallic (grey) selenium can be obtained from other varieties by heating to 200―220ºC;† if powdered, it may appear black, or red if very fine (*). Quoting from Patnaik (**): «gray metallic form of selenium is its most stable modification [...] soluble in sulfuric acid and chloroform; very slightly soluble in carbon disulfide; insoluble in alcohol». Other reliable references (e.g. *), confirm its solubility in chloroform.
Also note that commercial chloroform is often stabilized with ethanol or amylene, while it may also contain some moisture. You may thus consider to purify/dry the chloroform. The following RG discussion may perhaps be found of some help:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_do_you_dry_chloroform
†Wikipedia mentions conversion of black (vitreous) to grey selenium at 180 °C: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenium
References:
(*) J.R. Partington, “Quimica Geral e Inorganica para Estudiantes Universitarios” (Spanish transl. from 4th Engl. ed.), Inst. Edid. TECNOS / Edit. DOSSAT, Madrid, 1950, pp. 896-897.
(**) Pradyot Patnaik, “Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals”, McGraw-Hill, 2003, p. 812.
Dear Dr. Queiroz ,thanks for sharing this useful information and appreciate the time you spend for me.
- Badges
- Science topic