sulfide

sulfide, chemical compound containing sulfur and one other element or sulfur and a radical. Sulfides may be salts or esters of hydrogen sulfide, H₂S, or may be formed directly, e.g., by heating a metal with sulfur. Hydrosulfides are formed when only one of the hydrogens in hydrogen sulfide is replaced with a metal or radical. Soluble metal sulfides are used in preparing dyes, in leather tanning, as depilatory compounds, and as pesticides. Sulfides of antimony, copper, lead, mercury, silver, and zinc are important as ores; the ores are often roasted, yielding sulfur dioxide and an oxide of the metal. Pyrite is iron disulfide; tarnish on silver is mostly silver sulfide. In chemical analysis, hydrogen sulfide is often used to precipitate from a solution of metal salts certain metal sulfides that have characteristic colors and solubilities. Carbon disulfide is an important solvent for organic compounds.

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sulfide

Any of three classes of chemical compounds containing the element sulfur. The three classes of sulfides include inorganic sulfides, organic sulfides (thioethers), and phosphine sulfides. Sulfides of many metals are naturally occurring minerals; for example, pyrite (fool's gold) is a sulfide of iron, FeS₂. Sulfides are important components of lithium and sodium sulfide batteries, and phosphorous sulfides are used in the tips of strike-anywhere matches and in the preparation of industrial lubricant additives.

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sulfide [′səl‚fīd]

(chemistry)

Any compound with one or more sulfur atoms in which the sulfur is connected directly to a carbon, metal, or other nonoxygen atom; for example, sodium sulfide, Na₂S.