By introducing benzyloxy into the molecule, the as-prepared 1,2-bis(4-(benzyloxy)phenyl)diselane showed superior activity in copper pollutant elimination over simple diselenides in regardless of their electron-donating or electron-with-drawing substituents. The copper-adsorption process occurred smoothly at room temperature and could completely remove the Cu²⁺ ions within 4 h. The compound has been successfully employed in our Imatinib base synthetic project to reduce the catalytic Cu residue in product. By using only 1 mol% 1,2-bis(4-(benzyloxy)phenyl)diselane, the Cu residue in the produced Imatinib base could be depressed to be less than 10^-7, showing good application potential of torganoselenium compound in pharmaceutical industry. A novel method for removing copper residue is reported and it may be applied in pharmaceutical industry owing to the safe and metabolizable features of selenium.

Key words: selenium, organoselenium chemistry, diselenide, copper, heavy metal removing