From Arenetellurolates and Dihalomethanes

Lithium methanetellurolate and lithium or sodium arenetellurolates react with dihalomethanes to give bis[organotelluro]methanes . 

Irgolic Organo Tellurium Compounds with 2 Te —C Bonds or 1 Te = C Bond 

Bis[benzo-l-thiophen-2-yltelluro]methane In a 250 ml, nitrogen-flushed flask fitted with a stirrer are placed 2.1 g (15.7 mmol) of benzothiophene and 50 ml of tetrahydrofuran. 6.5 ml (15 mmol) of n-butyl lithium solution are added to the stirred benzothiophene solution at 20°, stirring is continued for 1 h, and then 1.9 g (14.9 mmol) of tellurium are added. The mixture is stirred until all the tellurium has been consumed (1 h), then 40 ml of dry dichloromethane are added to the stirred mixture and stirring at 20° is continued overnight. The mixture is poured into 200 ml of water, the organic layer is separated, the aqueous layer is extracted with further dichloromethane, and the combined dichloromethane solutions are dried with anhydrous calcium chloride, filtered, and evaporated. The residue is recrystallized from acetonitrile yield 2.7 g (68%) m.p. 127°. 

Bis[4-ethoxyphenyltelluro]methane was also isolated as the dibromomethane adduct (m.p. 154°) or as the diiodomethane adduct (m.p. 118°) from reaction mixtures consisting of the arenetellurolate, the dihalomethane and ethanol/benzene/aqueous sodium hydroxide . Reactions with dichloromethane gave products of indefinite composition . 

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