Potassium hydrosulfide 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 a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemist ...

with the formula KSH. This colourless

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

consists of the cation and the

bisulfide Bisulfide (or bisulphide in British English) is an inorganic anion with the chemical formula HS− (also written as SH−). It contributes no color to bisulfide salts, and its salts may have a distinctive putrid smell. It is a strong base. Bisul ...

anion . It is the product of the half-neutralization of

hydrogen sulfide Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...

with

potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...

. The compound is used in the synthesis of some

organosulfur compound Organosulfur compounds are organic compounds that contain sulfur. They are often associated with foul odors, but many of the sweetest compounds known are organosulfur derivatives, e.g., saccharin. Nature abounds with organosulfur compounds—sulfu ...

s. It is prepared by neutralizing aqueous KOH with . Aqueous solutions of potassium sulfide consist of a mixture of potassium hydrosulfide and

. The structure of the potassium hydrosulfide resembles that for

potassium chloride Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a salt ...

. Their structure is however complicated by the non-spherical symmetry of the

anion 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 ...

s, but these tumble rapidly in the solid at high temperatures. Addition of sulfur gives

dipotassium pentasulfide Potassium pentasulfide is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a red-orange solid that dissolves in water. The salt decomposes rapidly in air. It is one of several polysulfide salts with the general formula , where M = Li, Na, K and '' ...

Synthesis

Potassium hydrosulfide is synthesized by the reaction between a solution of potassium sulfide with excess

References

{{Potassium compounds Potassium compounds Hydrosulfides