Diethyl selenide is an organoselenium compound with the formula . First reported in 1836, it was the first

organoselenium compound Organoselenium compounds (or seleno-organic) are chemical compounds containing carbon-to-selenium chemical bonds. Organoselenium chemistry is the corresponding science exploring their properties and reactivity. Selenium belongs with oxygen and sulf ...

to be discovered. It is the

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, ...

analogue of

diethyl ether Diethyl ether, or simply ether, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula , sometimes abbreviated as (see Pseudoelement symbols). It is a colourless, highly volatile, sweet-smelling ("ethereal odour"), extremely flammable liq ...

. It has a strong and unpleasant smell.

Occurrence

Diethyl selenide has been detected in

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...

produced from

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

peel. It is also a minor air pollutant in some areas.

Preparation

It may be prepared by a

substitution reaction A substitution reaction (also known as single displacement reaction or single substitution reaction) is a chemical reaction during which one functional group in a chemical compound is replaced by another functional group. Substitution reactions ar ...

similar to the

Williamson ether synthesis The Williamson ether synthesis is an organic reaction, forming an ether from an organohalide and a deprotonated alcohol (alkoxide). This reaction was developed by Alexander Williamson in 1850. Typically it involves the reaction of an alkoxide io ...

: reaction of a metal selenide, such as sodium selenide, with two

equivalent Equivalence or Equivalent may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Album-equivalent unit, a measurement unit in the music industry * Equivalence class (music) *'' Equivalent VIII'', or ''The Bricks'', a minimalist sculpture by Carl Andre *''Equiva ...

s of

ethyl iodide Ethyl iodide (also iodoethane) is a colorless flammable chemical compound. It has the chemical formula C2H5I and is prepared by heating ethanol with iodine and phosphorus.''Merck Index of Chemicals and Drugs'', 9th ed., monograph 3753 On contact ...

or similar reagent to supply the

ethyl group In organic chemistry, an ethyl group (abbr. Et) is an alkyl substituent with the formula , derived from ethane (). ''Ethyl'' is used in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry's nomenclature of organic chemistry for a saturated ...

References

{{reflist Organoselenium compounds Foul-smelling chemicals