Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
⚛️

Stibine

physical science Maturity 5-7 Next article →

Stibine is a clear gas that is very important in science. Its chemical formula is SbH3. This means it is made of antimony and hydrogen. It is a pnictogen hydride. Scientists call it a heavy version of ammonia. The gas has a smell like garlic.

It is also very toxic to living things. This makes it a dangerous substance to handle.

This gas is quite unstable. It does not like to stay in one piece. At room temperature, it breaks down slowly. If the gas reaches 200 °C, it breaks down very fast. This process can even cause an explosion.

The gas also reacts with oxygen in the air. This reaction can turn the gas back into the element antimony. Sometimes, it even forms a yellow color.

People have studied this gas for a long time. Lewis Thomson and Pfaff discovered stibine in 1837. It was hard to learn about it at first. Scientists did not have a good way to make it. In 1876, Francis Jones tested ways to create it. Later, Alfred Stock found most of its properties in 1901.

Stibine is used in the semiconductor industry. A semiconductor is a material used in electronics. Workers use a way called chemical vapour deposition. This is also called CVD. They use the gas to dope silicon. Doping means adding small amounts of antimony to the silicon.

This helps make parts for computers work better.

Stibine is very dangerous to the body. It is highly toxic to mice. It can bind to hemoglobin in red blood cells. Hemoglobin is what carries oxygen in your blood. When stibine binds to it, the body destroys the cells.

This can cause headaches or nausea. It can also lead to kidney problems. It is much like the toxic gas arsine.

296 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

More to explore

✨ What else?

Related topics you might enjoy

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.