Barium selenide explained

Barium selenide is an inorganic compound, with the chemical formula of BaSe. It is a white solid although typically samples are colored owing to the effects of air oxidation.^[1]

BaSe has the lowest energy band gap among alkaline earth chalcogenides.^[2]

Preparation

Barium selenide can be obtained by the reduction of barium selenate in hydrogen flow:.^{[1] [3]}

BaSeO₄ + H₂ → BaSe + 4 H₂O

It can also be obtained by reacting selenium with barium carbonate or barium oxide at high temperature:

2 BaCO₃ + 5 Se → 2 BaSe + 3 SeO₂ + CO₂

Related compounds

Barium can also forms a series of polyselenide compounds, such as Ba₂Se₃, BaSe₂ and BaSe₃.^[4]

References

1. Book: P. Ehrlich. Alkaline Earth Metals. Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. . G. Brauer. Academic Press. 1963. NY, NY. 2pages=939.
2. A Study of the Optical Properties of Barium Selenide Crystals. I. Fundamental Functions. 1. 10.1007/s10812-017-0427-1. 59–65. 84. Journal of Applied Spectroscopy. March 2017. 0021-9037. en. 2018-08-09. V. V. Sobolev, D. А. Merzlyakov, V. Val. Sobolev. 2017JApSp..84...59S. 254609774.
3. Book: Handbuch der präparativen anorganischen Chemie Bd. 2. / Unter Mitarb. von M. Baudler ... . 1978 . Marianne Baudler . 978-3-432-87813-3 . 3., umgearb. Aufl . Stuttgart . 310719490 . 949.
4. Okamoto . H . August 1991 . The Ba-Se (Barium-Selenium) system . Journal of Phase Equilibria . en . 12 . 4 . 467–469 . 10.1007/BF02645971 . 95845653 . 1054-9714.