Zinc(II) arene tellurolato complexes as precursors to zinc telluride. The crystal and molecular structure of [Zn(TeC 6H 2Me 3-2,4,6) 2(pyridine) 2]

• Published in: Polyhedron Vol. 14; no. 23; pp. 3495 - 3500
• Main Authors: Bochmann, Manfred, Bwembya, Gabriel C., Powell, Annie K., Song, Xuejing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: OXFORD Elsevier Ltd 01.12.1995; Elsevier
• Subjects: Chemistry; Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear; Crystallography; Physical Sciences; Science & Technology; DECOMPOSITION; SEMICONDUCTOR CLUSTERS; MERCURY; CADMIUM; LIGANDS; CHALCOGENOLATO COMPLEXES
• ISSN: 0277-5387
• DOI: 10.1016/0277-5387(95)00215-E

The zinc tellurolato complex [Zn(TeC 6H 2Me 3-2,4,6) 2] n ( 1) was obtained by protolysis of Zn[N(SiMe 3) 2] 2 with mesitylene tellurol, 2,4,6-Me 3C 6H 2TeH, in light petroleum. The complex formed a coordination polymer soluble only in strongly coordinating solvents. Reaction with one equivalent of PMe 3 afforded [Zn(TeC 6H 2Me 3) 2(PMe 3)] ( 2), while an excess of Lewis bases L gave four-coordinate adducts [Zn(TeC 6H 2Me 3) 2L 2] [L = PMe 3 ( 3), N-methylimidazole ( 5), pyridine ( 6); L 2 = Me 2PC 2H 4PMe 2 ( 4)]. The adducts are more soluble than 1 but lose L on heating. The crystal structure of 6 has been determined by X-ray diffraction and confirmed the monomeric nature of the complex. Heating the complexes either without a solvent or in paraffin oil to 270–320°C led to the formation of cubic ZnTe. Prolonged exposure to temperatures of 350°C in vacuo led to the slow decomposition of ZnTe into the elements. The thermolysis of 1 in refluxing 4-ethylpyridine proceeded more slowly giving nano-scale particles of ZnTe, accompanied by the formation of crystalline tellurium.