Polonium halides

The chemistry of the polonium halides is, as would be expected, very similar to that of tellurium, but with the bipositive halides much more 

A white solid, possibly polonium tetrafluoride, is obtained by treating polonium hydroxide or tetrachloride with dilute aqueous hydrofluoric acid treatment of this solid, in suspension in dilute hydrofluoric acid, with sulfur dioxide yields a bluish grey product (possibly PoF2) which rapidly reverts to the original white solid on standing, presumably owing to radio-lytic oxidation 12). The solubility of polonium(IV) in aqueous hydrofluoric acid increases rapidly with acid concentration, indicating complex ion formation (/ft), p. 48). 

There have been some unsuccessful attempts to prepare a volatile hexafluoride from fluorine and polonium-210 26, 104), but recently such a fluoride has been prepared in this way from polonium-208 plated on platinum 132). The product appears to be stable while in the vapor phase, but on cooling a nonvolatile compound is formed, probably polonium tetrafluoride resulting from radiation decomposition of the hexafluoride. Analytical data are not recorded for any polonium fluoride, largely owing to the difficulty of determining fluoride ion accurately at the microgram level. 

Polonium tetrachloride is a bright yellow solid it melts in chlorine at about 300°C 6, 74) to a straw-colored liquid which becomes scarlet at 350°C, possibly through decomposition to the dichloride. It boils at 390°C to give a purple-brown vapor which becomes blue-green above 500°C 6). The reason for this reversible color change is unknown. 

The compound is produced by evaporating hydrochloric acid solutions of polonium (IV) 6, 26, 74), by heating the dioxide in carbon tetrachloride vapor 74), in hydrogen chloride, thionyl chloride or with phosphorus pentachloride 6) and by heating the metal in dry chlorine at 200°C (6, 25, 74). It is hygroscopic and hydrolyzes in moist air to a white solid, possibly a basic chloride (7)). The tetrachloride is soluble in thionyl chloride and in water with hydrolysis, and is moderately soluble in ethanol, acetone, and 

---

X-ray crystallographic data on the dichloride and some other polonium halides are presented in Table V. 

Polonium Halides. Polonium halides are similar to those of tellurium, being volatile above 150° and soluble in organic solvents. They are readily hydrolyzed and form complexes, for example, Na2[PoX6], isomorphous with those of tellurium. There is tracer evidence for the existence of a volatile polonium fluoride. The metal is also soluble in hydrofluoric acid, and complex fluorides exist. 

The tetrachloride is the best known and best characterized of the binary polonium halides. It has been prepared in a... 

Polonium is readily dissolved in dilute acids, but is only slightly soluble in alkali. Polonium slats of organic acids char rapidly halide amines are reduced to the metal. 

Pseudohalides of Se in which the role of halogen is played by cyanide, thiocyanate or selenocyanate are known and, in the case of Se are much more stable with respect to disproportionation than are the halides themselves. Examples are Se(CN)2, Se2(CN)2, Se(SeCN)2, Se(SCN)2, Se2(SCN)2. The selenocyanate ion SeCN is ambidentate like the thiocyanate ion, etc., p. 325), being capable of ligating to metal centres via either N or Se, as in the osmium(IV) complexes [OsCl5(NCSe)], [OsCl5(SeCN)], and trans-[OsCU(NCSe)(SeCN)]2-.920) Tellurium and polonium pseudohalogen analogues include Te(CN)2 and Po(CN)4 but have been much... 

The basic salts of quadrivalent polonium, such as the sulfate and sele-nate, show a marked resemblance to those of tellurium and further resemblances appear in the quadrivalent halides, particularly in their complexing with halide ions in solution, while complexing of polonium(IV) with weak acids, such as acetic, oxalic and tartaric, seems to be more marked than is the case with tellurium. 

The prevalent solid-state examples contain tellurium and polonium (see Tellurium Inorganic Chemistry, Polonium Inorganic Chemistry). The lower halides of Te are polymeric. A recent review covering the chalcogen hahdes, which includes aspects of their solid-state chemistry, provides an excellent overview of these materials. ... 

Table 6.8 gives stability constants for the complexes [FeX] and [HgX] for different halide ions while the stabilities of the Fe complexes decrease in the order F > CP > Br, those of the Hg complexes increase in the order F < CP < Br < P. More generally, in examinations of stability constants by Ahrland, Chatt and Davies, and by Schwarzenbach, the same sequence as for Fe + was observed for the lighter s- and /i-block cations, other early J-block metal cations, and lanthanoid and actinoid metal cations. These cations were collectively termed class (a) cations. The same sequence as for Hg complexes was observed for halide complexes of the later J-block metal ions, tellurium, polonium and thallium. These ions were collectively called class (b) cations. Similar patterns were found for other donor atoms ligands with O- and iV-donors form more stable complexes with class (a) cations, while those with S- and F-donors form more stable complexes with class (b) cations. 

---