Iron Sulfide

Iron sulfide or Iron sulphide refers to a chemical compound of iron and sulfur with a wide range of stoechiometric formulae and different crystalline structures.

Iron is an element, its symbol in the periodic table is Fe and its melting point is 1538°C. Sulphur is also an element, its symbol in the periodic table is S and its melting point is 115.2°C. Iron is a metal and its atomic mass is 56. Sulphur is a non-metal and its atomic mass is 32. Iron is a silvery grey colour, sulphur is a yellow colour and the iron sulphide is a black colour! After a chemical reaction, the two elements, iron and sulphur, are chemically joined together to form iron sulphide, which is a compound. The symbol for this compound is FeS.

The mixture of iron and sulphur could be separated by using a magnet. You could pick up the iron with a magnet as it is magnetic and so the sulphur would be left behind if it was a mixture. If it was a chemical reaction you couldn’t separate them (you could actually separate them but you need a lot of energy to do this!).