Copper selenide is an
inorganic
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 a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemist ...
binary compound
In materials chemistry, a binary phase or binary compound is a chemical compound containing two different elements. Some binary phase compounds are molecular, e.g. carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). More typically binary phase refers to extended soli ...
consisting 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 pinkis ...
and
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 tellurium, ...
. Its formula is sometimes described as CuSe or Cu
2Se.
The crystalline structure and electronic behavior is determined by its elemental composition.
Stoichiometric
Stoichiometry refers to the relationship between the quantities of reactants and products before, during, and following chemical reactions.
Stoichiometry is founded on the law of conservation of mass where the total mass of the reactants equal ...
copper selenide is a zero
bandgap
In solid-state physics, a band gap, also called an energy gap, is an energy range in a solid where no electronic states can exist. In graphs of the electronic band structure of solids, the band gap generally refers to the energy difference (in ...
material with metal-like behavior. Copper-deficient Cu
2-xSe (
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); mos ...
) is an intrinsic
p-type semiconductor
An extrinsic semiconductor is one that has been '' doped''; during manufacture of the semiconductor crystal a trace element or chemical called a doping agent has been incorporated chemically into the crystal, for the purpose of giving it different ...
with direct and indirect bandgap energies in the range of 2.1–2.3 eV and 1.2–1.4 eV, respectively. It is frequently grown as
nanoparticles
A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is usually defined as a particle of matter that is between 1 and 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 1 ...
or other
nanostructures
A nanostructure is a structure of intermediate size between microscopic and molecular structures. Nanostructural detail is microstructure at nanoscale.
In describing nanostructures, it is necessary to differentiate between the number of dime ...
.
Uses
Copper selenide is produced
in-situ to form a protective black coating on iron or steel parts in some
cold-bluing processes. Bluing solutions that operate in this manner will typically be labeled as containing
selenous acid
Selenous acid (or selenious acid) is the chemical compound with the formula . Structurally, it is more accurately described by . It is the principal oxoacid of selenium; the other being selenic acid.
Formation and properties
Selenous acid is a ...
or
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 seleniu ...
. It has also been investigated for use in the treatment of colon cancer.
Natural occurrences
Copper selenides are the most common selenium minerals. CuSe is known in mineralogy as
klockmannite, while Cu
2Se occurs as two polymorphs,
berzelianite
Berzelianite is a rare copper selenide mineral with the formula Cu2 Se. It occurs as thin dendritic crusts or as fine-grained inclusions. It crystallizes in the isometric system, unlike its dimorph, bellidoite, which crystallizes in the tetrag ...
(isometric, more common) and bellidoite (tetragonal). There are more natural Cu selenides to date, including
umangite
Umangite is a copper selenide mineral, Cu3 Se2, discovered in 1891. It occurs only in small grains or fine granular aggregates with other copper minerals of the sulfide group. It has a hardness of 3. It is blue-black to red-violet in color with a ...
, Cu
3Se
2 and
athabascaite
Athabascaite is a member of the copper selenide minerals, and forms with other copper selenides. It was first discovered by S. Kaiman in 1949 while he was researching radioactive materials around Lake Athabasca. Kaiman was conducting research near ...
, Cu
5Se
4.
See also
*
Gallium selenide
*
Indium selenide
*
Copper indium gallium selenide
Copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) is a I-III- VI2 semiconductor material composed of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium. The material is a solid solution of copper indium selenide (often abbreviated "CIS") and copper gallium selenide. ...
*
Copper sulfate Copper sulfate may refer to:
* Copper(II) sulfate, CuSO4, a common compound used as a fungicide and herbicide
* Copper(I) sulfate
Copper(I) sulfate, also known as cuprous sulfate, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Cu2 SO4. It ...
*
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 seleniu ...
*
Selenous acid
Selenous acid (or selenious acid) is the chemical compound with the formula . Structurally, it is more accurately described by . It is the principal oxoacid of selenium; the other being selenic acid.
Formation and properties
Selenous acid is a ...
References
{{Selenides
Selenides
Copper compounds