Caesium bromide or cesium bromide is an ionic compound of caesium and bromine with the chemical formula CsBr. It is a white or transparent solid with melting point at 636 °C that readily dissolves in water. Its bulk crystals have the cubic CsCl structure, but the structure changes to the rocksalt type in nanometer-thin film grown on mica, LiF, KBr or NaCl substrates.

Synthesis

Caesium bromide can be prepared via neutralization reactions:

CsOH + HBr → CsBr + H2O

Cs2(CO3) + 2 HBr → 2 CsBr + H2O + CO2

It can also be prepared by direct synthesis:

2 Cs + Br2 → 2 CsBr

The direct synthesis is a vigorous reaction of caesium with bromine. Due to its high cost, it is not used for preparation.

Uses

Caesium bromide is sometimes used in optics as a beamsplitter component in wide-band spectrophotometers.[citation needed]

Cited sources

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