1811. Carbon Disulfide

Nomenclature

CAS number: 75-15-0
Carbon bisulfide; dithiocarbonic anhydride.
CS2; mol wt 76.14.
C 15.77%, S 84.23%.

Description and references

Minute amounts occur in coal tar and in crude petroleum. Prepd on an industrial scale by heating charcoal with vaporized sulfur; from sulfur and natural gas: Faith, Keyes & Clark's Industrial Chemicals, F. A. Lowenheim, M. K. Moran, Eds. (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 4th ed., 1975) pp 224-229. Laboratory purification: Glemser in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry vol. 1, G. Brauer, Ed. (Academic Press, New York, 2nd ed., 1963) p 652. Review of production and uses: Bushell, Chem. Ind. (London) 1961, 1465; R. W. Timmerman in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology vol. 4 (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 3rd ed., 1978) pp 742-757; of toxicology and human exposure: Toxicological Profile for Carbon Disulfide (PB97-121073, 1996) 252 pp.

Properties

Highly refractive, mobile liquid. Flammable, poisonous. May be ignited by hot steam pipes. The purest distillates ever obtained are reported to have a sweet, pleasing, and ethereal odor, while the usual commercial and reagent grades are foul smelling. Dec on standing for a long time. Burns with a blue flame to CO2 and SO2. Flash pt, closed cup: -30°C. Ignition pt: 100°. Explosive range: 1 to 50% (v/v) in air. d40 1.29272; d415 1.27055; d420 1.2632; d430 1.24817. Vapors sink to the ground. Vapor density 2.67 (air = 1). mp -111.6°. bp1.0 -73.8°; bp10 -44.7°; bp100 -5.1°; bp400 28.0°; bp760 46.5°; bp(2 atm) 69.1°; bp(5 atm) 104.8°. Crit temp 280.0°; crit press. 72.9 atm. nD15 1.63189; nD20.1 1.62803; n23.5 1.62543. Surface tension at 20°: 32.25. Coefficient of viscosity at 20°: 0.363. Heat of vaporization at bp: 84.1 cal/g. Heat of fusion: 1.049 kcal/mole. Heat capacity at 24.3°: 18.17 cal/mole/deg: Brown, Manov, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 59, 500 (1937). Ebullioscopic constant: 2.35°. Dielectric constant at low frequencies: 2.641. Dipole moment: 0.0. Soly in water at 20°: 0.294%. Soly of water in CS2: <0.005%. Azeotrope with water bp 42.6°, contains 97.2% CS2. Misc with anhydr methanol, ethanol, ether, benzene, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, oils. Can be stored in iron, aluminum, glass, porcelain, Teflon.

Caution

Poisoning usually occurs from inhalation but also may be caused by ingestion and skin absorption. Direct contact with liquid or concentrated vapors may cause irritation of skin, eyes, mucous membranes; eye and skin burns; dermatitis. Potential symptoms of acute overexposure are headache, garlicky breath, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, weakness, vertigo, dizziness, poor sleep; CNS depression with respiratory paralysis. Potential symptoms of chronic overexposure are nervousness, anorexia, weight loss; psychosis; polyneuropathy; Parkinson-like syndrome; ocular changes; coronary heart disease; gastritis; kidney and liver injury; reproductive effects; marked psychic disturbances ranging from extreme irritability to mania with hallucinations, tremors, auditory and visual disturbances. See NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (DHHS/NIOSH 97-140, 1997) p 52; Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, R. E. Gosselin et al., Eds. (Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 5th ed., 1984) Section III, pp 90-93.

Use

In the manuf of rayon, carbon tetrachloride, xanthogenates, soil disinfectants, electronic vacuum tubes. Solvent for phosphorus, sulfur, selenium, bromine, iodine, fats, resins, rubbers.