From Diphenyl Ditellurium

Diphenyl ditellurium in acetonitrile reacted at 125° with carbon monoxide at 100 atm in the presence of octacarbonyldicobalt to give phenyl tellurobenzoate in 52% yield. Carbon monoxide at only one atmosphere and 0° effected the same conversion when benzoyl(tetracarbonyl)cobalt was used instead of octacarbonyldicobalt. Addition of triphenylphosphane to the reaction mixture prevented the formation of phenyl tellurobenzoate. Attempts to carry out this carbonylation catalytically with respect to the cobalt compound failed. Bis[4-methoxyphenyl] ditellurium and didodecyl ditellurium did not produce any tellurocarboxylic esters under these conditions.  

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Diphenyl ditellurium reacts with sodium in liquid ammonia4- 5 or in hexamethylphosphoric triamide6 at 120° under an atmosphere of nitrogen to produce sodium benzenetellurolate. Potassium benzenetellurolate was prepared from diphenyl ditellurium and potassium in liquid ammonia4. The liquid ammonia solutions of the tellurolates can be used for further reactions. If another solvent is desired, the ammonia can be evaporated and the residue dissolved in the solvent of choice. 

Phenyl tellurium halides, generated from diphenyl ditellurium and halogen in the presence or absence of thiourea, reacted with potassium selenocyanate to give bis[phenyltelluro] selenium3. 

The coordinatively unsaturated aryl tellurium halides interact with electron-donor ligands to form complexes. The aryl tellurium halides prepared from diphenyl ditellurium and halogens were used in situ. Thiourea, selenourea (X = Cl, Br)3, tetramethylthio- and... 

Phenyl tellurium iodide, generated from diphenyl ditellurium and iodine in tetrahydro-furan, added to lithium enolates at — 78 to form a-phenyltelluro-substituted carbonyl derivatives3 (p. 418). 

Sodium benzenetellurolate, prepared from diphenyl ditellurium and sodium borohydride in ethanol, added to alkenes bearing CN- or C02C2H5-groups as electron-withdrawing substituents to produce -substituted alkyl phenyl tellurium compounds3. 

Diisobutylaluminum benzenetellurolate, prepared from diphenyl ditellurium and diisobutylaluminum hydride, adds in a 1,4-fashion to a,/i-unsaturated aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acid esters to give as intermediates /i-phenyltelluro-substituted aluminum enolates that can be hydrolyzed to the carbonyl compounds or reacted with aldehydes to produce aldol adducts2. 

Primary and secondary alcohols may serve as the source of alkyl groups in the preparation of aryl phenyl tellurium compounds. Phenyl tellurium cyanide, conveniently obtained from diphenyl ditellurium (p. 368), reacted smoothly with alcohols in dichloromethane in the presence of tributylphosphane. The alkyl phenyl telluriums were obtained in yields ranging from 32 to 78%. Triphenylphosphane or triethyl phosphite did not catalyze these reactions2. 

Examples of diaryl tellurium dihalides similarly prepared1 from diphenyl ditellurium are ... 

The phenyl tellurium tribromide can be prepared in situ from diphenyl ditellurium and bromine. Olefins thus far investigated include isobutene, (E)- and (Z) -butene, 1 -hexene, 2-methyl-l-pentene, 1-octene, (E)- and (Z)-4-octene, 1-decene, phenylethene, 1-phenyl-I-methylethene, cyclopentene, cyclohexene, cycloheptene, and cyclooctene. Most of the reactions were carried out with phenyl tellurium tribromide in methanol. 

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