Ammonium hydrosulfide
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| Ammonium hydrosulfide | |
|---|---|
| IUPAC name |
|
| Other names | ammonium bisulfide ammonium hydrogen sulfide |
| Identifiers | |
| CAS number | [] |
| RTECS number | BS4900000 |
| Properties | |
| Molecular formula | H5NS |
| Molar mass | 51.111 g/mol |
| Appearance | Yellow-orange fuming liquid. |
| Density | 1.17 g/cm3[1] |
| Solubility in water | Infinitely soluble |
| Solubility | soluble in alcohol, liquid ammonia, liquid hydrogen sulfide; insoluble in benzene, hexane and ether |
| Refractive index (nD) | 1.74 |
| Hazards | |
| R-phrases | R11, R23, R24, R25. |
| NFPA 704 |
 3
3
0
|
| Related compounds | |
| Other anions | Ammonium sulfate |
| Other cations | Sodium hydrosulfide |
| Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox references |
|
Ammonium hydrosulfide is the chemical compound with the formula (NH4)SH. It is the salt derived from the ammonium cation and the hydrosulfide anion. By passing hydrogen sulfide mixed with a slight excess of ammonia gives the colourless, micaceous crystals. It dissolves readily in water but is partially dissociated in solution. The compound is encountered mainly as a solution, not as the salt. It is a corrosive agent in oil refineries, where it is generated in the handling of hydrogen sulfide.
Contents |
[edit] History
Ammonium sulfide is commercially available as an aqueous solution, though it is rather expensive. It can also be prepared by passing hydrogen sulfide gas through concentrated ammonia solution, and warming the flask slightly.[2]
A 1895 report describes that passing hydrogen sulfide into a concentrated aqueous ammonia solution at ordinary temperature gives (NH4)2S·2NH4HS, which, on cooling to 0 °C and adding more hydrogen sulfide forms (NH4)2S·12NH4HS.[3] An ice-cold solution of this substance kept at 0°C and having hydrogen sulfide continually passed through it gives the hydrosulfide.
As noted also by the Bloxam paper, several complex polysulfides of ammonium can be isolated. Such species arise via the addition of elemental sulfur to "ammonium sulfide:"
- 2 (NH4)SH + 1/2 S8
(NH4)2S4 + H2S
[edit] Stink bombs
The common "stink bomb" consists of a solution of ammonium sulfide in water, sealed inside a glass ampoule. When the glass is broken, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide gases, both of which have a powerful unpleasant smell, are released from the solution. This conversion illustrates the ease of the following equilibrium:
- (NH4)SH NH3 + H2S
[edit] Occurrence on gas giants
In addition to water and ammonia, the clouds in the atmospheres of the gas giant planets contain ammonium sulfides. The reddish-brownish clouds, which have been exposed to prolonged sunlight are attributed to polysulfides.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Pradyot Patnaik. Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals. McGraw-Hill, 2002, ISBN 0070494398
- ^ Goodman, J. T.; Rauchfuss, T. B., (2002). "Tetraethylammonium-tetrathioperrhenate [Et4N][ReS4]". Inorganic Syntheses 33: 107–110.
- ^ W. P. Bloxam (1895). "The Sulphides and Polysulphides of Ammonium". J. Chem. Soc., Trans. 67: 283. doi:.
- ^ Jupiter :: Cloud composition - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
