What is the name of #Cu_2S#?

2 Answers
David Drayer
Jan 30, 2017

Copper sulfide or dicopper sulfide

Explanation:

Copper has two common oxidation numbers + 1 and +2.
Sulfur has a common oxidation number of -2

A more precise name would be Copper I sulfide.

A common name would be Cuprous sulfide. This is an old name for compounds with a +1 charge on Copper. Cupric Sulfide would have the formula #CuS# with a +2 charge on Copper.

Ernest Z.
Feb 8, 2017

The name is copper(I) sulfide.

Explanation:

Copper is in the #"d"#-block of elements, so it is a transition metal.

Here are the steps for deriving the name of a compound of a transition metal.

Step 1. Write the name of the transition metal

This gives: "copper".

Step 2. Add the name of the nonmetal with the ending "-ide"

This gives: "copper sulfide".

Step 3. Use the charge on the non-metal to find the charge on the transition metal

The charge on #"S"# is -2.

The total charge on the #"Cu"# must be +2. Hence, each #"Cu"# has a charge of +1.

Step 4. Write the charge on the non-metal as Roman numerals in parentheses immediately after (no spaces) the name of the metal.

This gives the name: copper(I) sulfide.

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