Helium hydride ion
The helium hydride ion, hydridohelium(1+) ion, or helonium is a cation (positively charged ion) with chemical formula HeH+. It consists of a helium atom bonded to a hydrogen atom, with one electron removed. It can also be viewed as protonated helium. It is the lightest heteronuclear ion, and is believed to be the first compound formed in the Universe after the Big Bang.
| Names | |
|---|---|
| Systematic IUPAC name
Hydridohelium(1+) | |
| Other names
Helonium Helium hydride | |
| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) |
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| ChEBI |
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| ChemSpider | |
| 2 | |
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| Properties | |
| HeH+ | |
| Molar mass | 5.01054 g·mol−1 |
| Conjugate base | Helium |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references | |
The ion was first produced in a laboratory in 1925. It is stable in isolation, but extremely reactive, and cannot be prepared in bulk, because it would react with any other molecule with which it came into contact. Noted as the strongest known acid—stronger than even fluoroantimonic acid—its occurrence in the interstellar medium had been conjectured since the 1970s, and it was finally detected in April 2019 using the airborne SOFIA telescope.