Tellurium dichloride


Tellurium dichloride is a chloride of tellurium with the chemical formula TeCl2. It is a lightly characterized material that has attracted little attention.

Preparation

Tellurium dichloride is claimed as the product of the reaction of tellurium with difluorodichloromethane. It can also be produced by the comproportionation of tellurium and tellurium tetrachloride.

Properties

Tellurium dichloride is a black solid that reacts with water. It melts into a black liquid and vapourizes into a purple gas. The gas consists of monomeric TeCl2 molecules with Te–Cl bond lengths of 2.329 Å and a Cl–Te–Cl bond angle of 97.0°.
Tellurium dichloride is unstable with respect to disproportionation. Several complexes of it are known and well characterized. They are prepared by treating tellurium dioxide with hydrochloric acid in the presence of thioureas. The thiourea serves both as a ligand and as a reductant, converting Te to Te.
Although tellurium dichloride is lightly studied, molecular adducts of the title compound are well characterized.
File:ZZZEJK01.png|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Structure of trans-. Color code: green = Cl, dark gray = Te, yellow = S.