What is Stibine?
'''Stibine''', also known as '''antimony hydride''' or '''hydrogen antimonide''', is a [[chemical compound]]. Its chemical formula is SbH<sub>3</sub>. It is a [[covalent]] compound. It could be seen as having [[antimonide]] and [[hydrogen]] [[ion]]s, or [[antimony]] and [[hydride]] ions. ==Properties== Stibine is a colorless gas. It is very toxic. It has a bad smell like [[hydrogen sulfide]]. Its structure is similar to [[ammonia]]. It can be found in the Marsh test, a test for arsenic. Antimony is reacted with a mixture of [[zinc]] and [[hydrochloric acid]] in a tube, making stibine. The stibine is heated and a shiny area of antimony is made in the heated part of the tube. Stibine easily decomposes into antimony and hydrogen at room temperature. This decomposition can be [[explosive]]. It burns very easily in air to make [[antimony trioxide]] and water. It can be [[deprotonation|deprotonated]] by very strong [[base (chemistry)|bases]]. Stibine melts at -88°C and boils at -17°C. ==History== Stibine was first found in 1837. It was difficult to find its properties because people did not know of a good way to make it. In 1901, Alfred Stock found a good way to make this gas and found most of its properties. ==Preparation== Stibine is made by reacting any [[antimonide]] with a [[strong acid]]. Some antimonides react with water to make this gas. Stibine can also be made by reacting any antimony(III) compound such as antimony trioxide with any hydride. ==Uses== Stibine is used to [[Doping (semiconductor)|dope]] [[semiconductor]]s with antimony. Some claim that it is used as a [[fumigation|fumigant]], but [[phosphine]] works much better. ==Safety== Stibine is a highly toxic gas, similar in toxicity to phosphine. It is too unstable to be of any hazard outside the laboratory, though. ==Related pages== *[[Arsine]] *[[Bismuthine]] *[[Aluminium antimonide]] {{Chemical agents}} [[Category:Antimony compounds]]