Diphenyl telluride is an organotellurium compound with the chemical formula . It is a yellow liquid or solid, depending on purity and temperature, and it has a strong refractive index. It is a member of the diphenyl chalcogenide series containing diphenyl ether, diphenyl sulfide, and diphenyl selenide.
Preparation Diphenyl telluride can be prepared by the reaction of elemental tellurium and diphenylmercury.
The reactants are heated to for several hours in a melting tube filled with carbon dioxide. After cooling, a grey-black crystalline slurry permeated with liquid diphenyl telluride is obtained. Diphenyl telluride can then be isolated from the mixture using diethyl ether and filtration. After removal of the ether, diphenyl telluride as a yellow oily liquid remains.
It can also be prepared by reflux reaction of diphenyl ditelluride and copper in toluene.
Structure Its molecule consists of two phenyl rings bridged by a single tellurium atom.
Reactions Diphenyl telluride decomposes upon heating to to benzene and a bright-lustrous crystalline solid.
Upon addition of hydrochloric acid, under heating and presence of oxygen, the diphenyltellurium(IV) dichloride is formed.
It reacts with iodomethane and silver tetrafluoroborate in 1,2-dichloroethane to obtain the salt of methyl(diphenyl)telluronium tetrafluoroborate .
Safety Organotellurium compounds, such as diphenyl telluride, are cytotoxic, triggering cell apoptosis.
References