Silicon sulfide

Silicon sulfide is the inorganic compound

Inorganic compound

Inorganic compounds have traditionally been considered to be of inanimate, non-biological origin. In contrast, organic compounds have an explicit biological origin. However, over the past century, the classification of inorganic vs organic compounds has become less important to scientists,...

 with the formula Si

Silicon

Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...

S₂

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

. Like the silicon dioxide, this material is polymer

Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...

ic, but it adopts a 1-dimensional structure quite different from the usual forms

Polymorphism (materials science)

Polymorphism in materials science is the ability of a solid material to exist in more than one form or crystal structure. Polymorphism can potentially be found in any crystalline material including polymers, minerals, and metals, and is related to allotropy, which refers to chemical elements...

 of SiO₂.

Synthesis, structure, and properties

The material is formed by heating silicon and sulfur or by the exchange reaction between SiO₂ and Al₂S₃. The material consists of chains of edge-shared tetrahedra, Si(μ-S)₂Si(μS)₂ etc. Curiously, the Si---Si distances at 214 picometers are shorter than conventional Si-Si single bonds.

Like other silicon sulfur-compounds, e.g. bis(trimethylsilyl)sulfide

Bis(trimethylsilyl)sulfide

Bis sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula 2S. Often abbreviated 2S, this colourless, vile-smelling liquid is a useful aprotic source of “S2−“ in chemical synthesis.-Synthesis:...

, SiS₂ hydrolyzes readily to release H₂S.

SiS₂ is thought to occur in certain interstellar objects.