Is there any OTC uses for selenium dioxide? SWIC would love some DOB and has all the chemicals to do it but this one... any advice is much appreciated! Thanks!

If I am not mistaken there is a process in photography called 'selenium toning' but I can't remember the details.

Edit Ahh..on second thoughts no,this uses selenium metal coated rollers to cause an effect on photo paper I think.

---

(rated as:eggsellent)

Hmm... I noticed a "selenium powder" is available. I should find out if this is pure Se powder... if so, are there any ways to get to SeO2 easily and in very good yield?

Gun blueing. OOPs.

---

Give me libreum or give me Meth

> are there any ways to get to SeO2 easily and in very good yield?

I seem to remember that fuming HNO3 will convert it to the oxide.

---

I'm not fat just horizontally disproportionate.

Os
You probably remember reading that in the chemistry forum a few minutes ago.
   

---

Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety

As SWIC doesn't have the ability to heat selenium to 700C, he was hoping that selenium could be oxidized with things such as hydrogen peroxide or oxone. Any ideas? He has some sulfur to experiment on... any refs for such rxns?

> You probably remember reading that in the chemistry forum a few minutes ago.

Nope.

---

I'm not fat just horizontally disproportionate.

As Osmium said, concentrated HNO3 appears to work.  You may even bee able to purify it by sublimation.

---

Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety

Selenium dioxide is used for antiquating things (I don't know what though). See:

http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/arthazards/other.html

, number 6.

At least in the U.K, most chemicals are quite easy to buy from chemical suppliers without giving an end use - can you not do this with Selenium dioxide where you are? It is not suspicious over here, and you can buy it from most chemical suppliers. Or do you have a good reason for you wanting an OTC use and I'm missing something?

Chromic a Mapp ags torch might convert selenium to the oxide.  Don't know if it is safe though.  Selenium compounds are poisionous remember so it might be safer to  buy it. Sometimes it is listed as selenium oxide in the catalogs.

I'll likely just buy it once I get myself a high vacuum pump. It takes time & money to acquire things, one of which I don't have much of.

Btw, what is the role of the SeO2 in this reaction? Is it catalytic or a reducing agent? Can it be recovered & recycled thru isolating the aqueous layer when extracting the 2,5-dmpb?

selenium dioxide is used for blackening steel (e.g. wheels of model railway carriages)

can be bought from people that supply patination chemicals.