Methaneselenol
Methaneselenol is the organoselenium compound with the formula. It is the simplest selenol. A colorless, poisonous gas, it is notorious for its foul, putrid odor.
It is prepared by reaction of methyl lithium or a methyl Grignard reagent with selenium followed by protonation of the product. The compound is a metabolite.
According to IR spectroscopy, νSe-H = 2342 cm−1. For the other homologues, νE-H = 1995, 2606, and 3710 cm−1 for methanetellurol, methanethiol, and methanol.