By passing arsine over barium oxide at red heat Soubeiran obtained a mixture of arsenide and arsenite. Lebeau prepared the pure arsenide by reduction of barium arsenate with carbon in an electric furnace. Barium arsenide is very similar in properties to the arsenides of calcium and strontium; it is slightly darker in colour, more readily fusible and more reactive chemically. Its density at 15° C. is 4.1. It burns spontaneously in fluorine, chlorine or bromine vapour. In oxygen it burns at about 300° C. and in sulphur vapour at dull red heat.
Beryllium Arsenide is formed when a mixture of beryllium and arsenic is heated; the reacting mixture becomes incandescent. The arsenide is decomposed by water with evolution of arsine. |