Contents
Mercury selenide (HgSe; sometimes mercury(II) selenide) is a chemical compound of mercury and selenium. It is a grey-black crystalline solid semi-metal with a sphalerite structure. The lattice constant is 0.608 nm.
HgSe occurs naturally as the mineral Tiemannite, and is a component of the "intimate mixture" of HgSe and Se known as HgSe2.[1]
Along with other II-VI compounds, colloidal nanocrystals of HgSe can be formed.
Applications
- Selenium is used in filters in some steel plants to remove mercury from exhaust gases. The solid product formed is HgSe.
- HgSe can be used as an ohmic contact to wide-gap II-VI semiconductors such as zinc selenide or zinc oxide.
Toxicity
HgSe is non-toxic as long as it is not ingested due to its insolubility. Toxic hydrogen selenide fumes can be evolved on exposure to acids. HgSe is a relatively stable compound which might mean that it is less toxic than elemental mercury or many organometallic mercury compounds. Selenium's ability to complex with mercury has been proposed as a reason for the lack of mercury toxicity in deep sea fish despite high mercury levels.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Park, Chang-Woo; Smith, Donna M.; Pell, Michael A.; Ibers, James A. (1997). "Different Products from the Chemical and Electrochemical Reduction of 'HgSe2': [K(2.2.2-cryptand)]2[HgSe2] and [PPh4]2[Hg(Se4)2]·en". Inorg. Chem. 36 (5): 942–943. doi:10.1021/ic960786v.
- ^ Watanabe, C. (2002). "Modification of Mercury Toxicity by Selenium: Practical Importance?". The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine. 196 (2): 71–77. doi:10.1620/tjem.196.71. PMID 12498318.
- Nelson, D.; Broerman, J.; Paxhia, E.; Whitsett, C. (1969). "Resonant Phonon Scattering in Mercury Selenide". Physical Review Letters. 22 (17): 884. Bibcode:1969PhRvL..22..884N. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.22.884.
- Jayaraman, A.; Klement, W.; Kennedy, G. (1963). "Melting and Polymorphic Transitions for Some Group II-VI Compounds at High Pressures". Physical Review. 130 (6): 2277. Bibcode:1963PhRv..130.2277J. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.130.2277.
- Gawlik, K. -U.; Kipp, L.; Skibowski, M.; Orłowski, N.; Manzke, R. (1997). "HgSe: Metal or Semiconductor?" (PDF). Physical Review Letters. 78 (16): 3165. Bibcode:1997PhRvL..78.3165G. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.3165..
- Kumazaki, K. (1990). "Dielectric properties of narrow-gap semiconductors". Journal of Crystal Growth. 101 (1–4): 687–690. Bibcode:1990JCrGr.101..687K. doi:10.1016/0022-0248(90)91059-Y.
- SNV (1991) Guidelines on measures and methods for heavy metal emissions control. Solna, The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency – Naturvårdsverket.