Caesium hydride or cesium hydride is an inorganic compound of caesium and hydrogen with the chemical formula . It is an alkali metal hydride. It was the first substance to be created by light-induced particle formation in metal vapor, and showed promise in early studies of an ion propulsion system using caesium. It is the most reactive stable alkaline metal hydride. It is a powerful superbase and reacts with water extremely vigorously.
The caesium nucleus in CsH can be hyperpolarized through interactions with an optically pumped caesium vapor in a process known as spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP). SEOP can increase the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal of caesium nucleus by an order of magnitude.
It is very difficult to make caesium hydride in a pure form. Caesium hydride can be produced by heating caesium carbonate and metallic magnesium in hydrogen at .
Crystal structure At room temperature and atmospheric pressure, CsH has the same structure as NaCl.
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