Carbon Disulfide Formula – Structure, Properties, Uses, Sample Questions

Carbon Disulfide is discovered by the German chemist Wilhelm August Lampadius. In 1796 Wilhelm August Lampadius first prepared Carbon Disulfide by heating pyrite with moist charcoal. He called it “liquid sulfur”. The composition of Carbon Disulfide was finally determined in 1813 by the team of the Swedish chemist Jons Jacob Berzelius and the Swiss-British chemist Alexander Marcet.

What is Carbon Disulfide?

Carbon Disulfide is also called Bisulfide. The chemical formula is CS₂. It is a colorless, toxic, highly volatile, and flammable poisonous liquid chemical compound. 

This compound is commonly used in organic chemistry as a building block, as well as a non-polar industrial and chemical solvent. It is a natural product of anaerobic biodegradation and can be released into the atmosphere from landmasses and Oceans as well as geothermal sources. Coastal and marshland areas of high biological activity and the ocean appear to be major sources of carbon disulfide.

Carbon Disulfide is formed by the elements of carbon and sulfur. It contains 1 mole of carbon and 2 moles of sulfur. Carbon Disulfide is formed when coke reacts with Sulphur at high temperatures. It is a dangerous chemical component. It damages the human body like skin, liver, eyes, cardiovascular system as well kidneys. It has a solid offensive smell. It is a neurotoxic colorless volatile liquid. Its production and uses as a chemical intermediate and a solvent may result in its release to the environment through various waste streams but use as an insecticide result in its direct release to the environment. 

Preparation of Carbon Disulfide

The primary source of carbon disulfide in the environment is rayon factories. Most carbon disulfide emissions come from rayon production. Other sources include the production of cellphone, carbon tetrachloride, carbon black, and sulfur recovery.

• CS₂ is manufactured by combining carbon and sulfur at a high temperature,

C  +  2S    ⇢    CS₂

• And, at low temperatures, it utilizes natural gas (CH₄) as the carbon source in the presence of silica gel or alumina catalyst.

2CH₄  +  S    ⇢    2CS₂  +  4H₂S

Structure of Carbon Disulfide

The Structural formula of Carbon Disulfide is, 

Structure of Carbon Disulfide

Properties of Carbon Disulfide

Physical Properties 

• It has a molar mass or molecular weight of 76.13 g/mol.
• Its density is 1.539 g/cm³.
• Its boiling point is 46.24°C.
• Its melting point is -111.61°C.

Chemical Properties

• Carbon disulfide is insoluble in water and denser than in water.
• It evaporates at room temperature and the vapor is more than twice as heavy as air.
• It reacts with oxygen then produces carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide:

CS₂  +  3O₂    ⇢    CO₂   +  SO₂

• It reacts with sodium sulfide then produces trithiocarbonate:

Na₂S +  CS₂    ⇢    [Na⁺]₂ [CS₃^2-]

• Reduction with sodium affords sodium 1,3-dithiole-2-thione-4, 5-dithiolate together with sodium trithiocarbonate:

4Na  +  4CS₂    ⇢    Na₂C₃S₅  +  Na₂CS₃

• Chlorination of carbon disulfide provides a route to carbon tetrachloride:

CS₂  +  3Cl₂    ⇢    CCl₄  +  S₂Cl₂

Uses of Carbon Disulfide

1. Carbon disulfide is used in many manufacturing industries.
2. It is used in the manufacturing of rayon.
3. Carbon disulfide is widely used in the synthesis of organosulfur compounds.
4. It is used in the chemical synthesis of carbon tetrachloride.
5. It is used as a solvent in rubber making, iodine, and phosphorous.
6. Carbon disulfide is used in the making of electronic vacuum tubes.
7. Carbon disulfide is also used as an insecticide for the fumigation of grains.

Sample Questions

Question 1: Which health effects of carbon disulfide?

Answer:

This carbon disulfide has changes in breathing and chest pain, vomiting, headache, mood changes, blurred vision, and convulsions have also been reported in humans acutely exposed by inhalation

Question 2: What is the mixture of Sulphur and carbon disulfide?

Answer:

The carbon Disulfide and Sulphur mixture is a heterogeneous colloid and it shows the Tyndall effect. In a colloidal solution, the particles are big enough to scatter light The scattering of light by colloidal particles is known as the Tyndall effect. 

Question 3: Is Sulfur a metal?

Answer:

Sulfur is a non-metal with the symbol S. Its atomic number is 16. Because it is not placed in the metal group in the periodic table. It is consistent with three properties listed for nonmetals. It is a poor conductor of heat and electricity because the electrons are non-free to move.

Question 4: How Carbon Disulfide is used in everyday life?

Answer:

It is used as a solvent or soil fumigant, in perfume production in certain varnishes and insecticides in the cold vulcanization of rubber and manufacturing of rayon.

Question 5: What intermolecular forces does carbon disulfide have?

Answer:

Carbon disulfide and carbon dioxide molecules are non-polar. C-S bond is non-polar in CS₂ since carbon and sulfur have identical electro negatives, the intermolecular attractions are London desperation forces.

Question 6: How do you separate Sulphur from carbon disulfide?

Answer:

Carbon disulfide is used as a solvent. The Sulphur component is dissolvent insolvent and the undissolved carbon is separated by filtration. This dissolved Sulphur can be separated from the solution by evaporation.

Question 7: is carbon disulfide organic or inorganic?

Answer:

It belongs to the classic of inorganic compounds known as other non-metal sulfides. these are in-organic compounds containing a sulfur atom of an oxidation state of -2 in which the heaviest atom bonded to the oxygen belongs to the class of other non-metals.