Copper selenide
Copper selenide is an inorganic binary compound consisting of copper and selenium. Its formula is sometimes described as CuSe or Cu2Se, but it is non-stoichiometric. It is a semiconductor and is frequently grown as nanoparticles or other nanostructures.Uses
Copper selenide is produced in-situ to form a protective black coating on iron or steel parts in some cold-bluing processes. Bluing solutions that operate in this manner will typically be labeled as containing selenous acid or selenium dioxide. It has also been investigated for use in the treatment of colon cancer.Copper selenides are the most common selenium minerals. CuSe is known in mineralogy as klockmannite, while Cu2Se occurs as two polymorphs, berzelianite and bellidoite. There are more natural Cu selenides to date, including umangite, Cu3Se2 and athabascaite, Cu5Se4.
