chemistry

Organotellurium chemistry

Organotellurium chemistry is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Organotellurium chemistry rather than just read about it. In short: Organotellurium chemistry describes the synthesis and properties of organotellurium compounds, chemical compounds containing a carbon-tellurium chemical bond. Organotellurium chemistry is a lightly studied area, in part because of it having few applications.

Key takeaways

Organotellurium chemistry belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Organotellurium chemistry to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Organotellurium chemistry from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Organotellurium chemistry describes the synthesis and properties of organotellurium compounds, chemical compounds containing a carbon-tellurium chemical bond. Organotellurium chemistry is a lightly studied area, in part because of it having few applications.

Functional groups The tellurium analogues of common organosulfur and organoselenium functional groups are known. Tellurols are however unstable with respect to oxidation to the ditellurides. Commonly encountered organotellurium compounds are diorganomono- and ditellurides, R2Te and (RTe)2, respectively. Two other families of organotellurium(IV) compounds are well developed: R4−xTeClx and the telluroxides (R2TeO).

Synthesis and reactions

Reduced organotellurium compounds

Reduced organotellurium compounds are commonly obtained from NaHTe and lithium telluride:

Li2Te + 2 RBr → R2Te + 2 LiBr A direct route to organolithium compounds starts from reactions of organolithium or Grignard reagents and Te:

Te + ArLi → ArTeLi Butyl lithium gives the telluride similarly:

Te + BuLi → BuTeLi Organotelluride anions can be oxidized or alkylated:

2 RTeLi + 0.5 O2 + H2O → RTeTeR + 2 LiOH RTeLi + R'Br → RTeR' + LiBr Diorganoditellurides are valued intermediates, especially the aryl derivatives such as diphenyl ditelluride:

Ar2Te2 + RLi → RTeAr + LiTeR Ph2Te2 + 2 Li → 2 LiTePh

Derivatives of TeCl4

One departure from sulfur and selenium chemistry is the availability of the tetrachloride, TeCl4. It reacts with arenes to give aryltellurium trichlorides:

ArH + TeCl4 → ArTeCl3 + HCl For electron-rich arenes, the disubstitution occurs

ArH + ArTeCl3 → Ar2TeCl2 + HCl Tellurium tetrachloride adds across alkenes and alkynes to the chloro tellurium trichlorides:

RCH=CH2 + TeCl4 → RCH(Cl)-CH2TeCl3 Organotellurium trichlorides adopt dimeric structures, reflecting the Lewis acidity of the Te(IV) center. The dimers are cleaved by halides and other Lewis bases:

RTeCl3 + Cl− → RTeCl4− The anions RTeCl4− (and the related adducts RTeCl3L) adopt square pyramidal structures with the electronegative groups in the plane. Organotellurium(IV) chlorides are susceptible to substitution reactions where by chloride is replaced by other halides and pseudohalides. The TeClx group can also be removed with Raney nickel. Organotellurium(IV) compounds participate in Stille reactions:

Telluroxides Telluroxides are generally related to sulfoxides and selenoxides in terms of their structures. Unlike their lighter analogues however, they polymerize (reversibly) when crystallized. Analogous to selenoxide oxidation, allylic telluroxides undergo [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements forming allylic alcohols after hydrolysis. Also analogous to the selenoxide elimination, certain telluroxides give alkenes upon heating.

Te(VI) Hexamethylpertellurane was prepared by oxidation of tetramethyltellurium with xenon difluoride. The resulting TeF2(CH3)4 is then treated with dimethylzinc:

Te(CH3)4 + XeF2 → Te(CH3)4F2 + Xe Te(CH3)4F2 + Zn(CH3)2 → Te(CH3)6 + ZnF2 The octahedral compounds TeAr6 have also been prepared.

Applications Dimethyl telluride is used to in metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy where it serves as a volatile source of Te. It is the only organotellurium compound that has been quantified in environmental samples. Telluroethers undergo a variant of the selenoxide elimination.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Organotellurium chemistry

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Organotellurium chemistry claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Organotellurium chemistry before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Organotellurium chemistry ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Organotellurium chemistry

In research: Organotellurium chemistry appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Organotellurium chemistry in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Organotellurium chemistry is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Organotellurium compounds, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Organotellurium chemistry outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Organotellurium chemistry in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Organotellurium chemistry means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Organotellurium chemistry out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Organotellurium chemistry in simple terms?

Why does Organotellurium chemistry matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Organotellurium chemistry?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Organotellurium chemistry.