Tellurides, from alkyl halides

The reaction of disodium telluride with alkyl halides is the oldest known method for the preparation of dialkyl telluriums. The required solutions of disodium telluride can be prepared from tellurium and sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate (Rongalite C) in aqueous sodium hydroxide (Vol. IX, p. 1048), from tellurium and sodium in liquid ammonia " dimethylformamide or tetrahydrofuran in the presence of naphthalene , from tellurium and hydrazine hydrate/sodium hydroxide in water or dimethylformamide °, from tellurium and thiourea dioxide in aqueous tetrahydrofuranor from tellurium and sodium borohydride in methanol, ethanol, tetrahydrofuran, or aqueous sodium hydroxide ... 

Since alkyl phenyl tellurides are easily prepared from alkyl halides and phenyltel-luromethylUthium, procedure C constimtes a homologation of alkyl halides. 

Since the starting tellurides are easily prepared from alkyl halides or epoxides by displacement with tellurolate aiuons (see Section 3.1.3.2), the overall sequence constitutes a mild reduction of these substrates and is advantageous over the analogous reductions of selenides, which require more severe conditions (a temperature of 120°C is necessary). 

From sodium telluride and two different alkyl halides... 

Medium-to-high yields of the expected tellurides are obtained from diaryl or dialkyl ditellurides and n- and. y-alkyl halides (and steroidal tosylates). 

Unsymmetrical dialkyl tellurium derivatives were prepared by mixing an aqueous disodium telluride solution with equimolar amounts of two different alkyl halides. All three possible dialkyl tellurium products are formed. The unsymmetrical dialkyl tellurium is the predominant species. It can be separated from the symmetrical compounds by chromatography1. This one-pot procedure takes less time to complete than the alternative route employing alkyl tellurolates (p. 387) and was used to prepare unsymmetrical dialkyl telluriums containing radioactive tellurium. Sequential addition of two alkyl halides produced only symmetrical dialkyl telluriums. 

For methods to prepare acyl organo tellurium compounds from disodium telluride, carboxylic acid chlorides, and alkyl halides, see p. 500. 

Sodium 1-methylethanetellurolate and hexadecanetellurolate were obtained from sodium hydrogen telluride and the appropriate alkyl halide in THF or THF/ethanol. The sodium hydrogen telluride was prepared from tellurium and sodium borohydride in water. Equimolar amounts of disodium telluride combined with aliphatic carboxylic acid chlorides in tetrahydrofuran at — 30" and with aromatic carboxylic acid chlorides in tetrahydrofuran at 0° to give sodium tellurolates that have an acyl group bonded to the tellurium atom. These tellurolates, the sodium salts of tellurolocarboxylic acids, are dark-red substances that were obtained in almost quantitative yields. 

Sodium telluride and ditelluride are readily generated in situ from Te by reduction with thiourea dioxide, and subsequent treatment with alkyl halide provides the corresponding dialkyl tellurides and ditellurides. E Thiourea dioxide and NaOH in 1 1 water/THF added to Te under N2, the mixture refluxed for 1 h, n-octyl halide and a little cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in THF added, and refluxing continued for 1 h - dioctyl telluride. Y 85%. The method is cheap, simple and does not require very dry conditions. F.e. and sym. ditellurides s. J.T.B. Ferreira et al., Synth. Commun. 19, 239-44 (1989) prepn. of Na2Te from ultra-pure Te-ingots/Na-naphthalenide, or from Te/Na and a little naphthalene, s. K.T. Higa, D.C. Harris, Organometallics 8, 1674-8 (1989). 

Preparation of Sulphides, Selenides, and Tellurides using the Elements Themselves, or Other Inorganic Sulphur, Selenium, and Tellurium Compounds.—Symmetrical sulphides can be obtained in 12—66% yields from an alkyl chloride, sulphur, and NaOH in DMSO. The same system with a bePxZyl cyanide R PhCHCN produces the unsymmetrical sulphides R PhC(CN)SR with an alkyl halide some... 

Conditions have been worked out for the synthesis of methyl polyfluoroalkyl sulphides and 2-bromo-l,l-difluoroethyI phenyl sulphide by halogen-substitution reactions involving sodium thiolates. / -Nitrothiophenol reacts with 1,2-dichlorohexafluorocyclopentene to give the l,2-bis(p-nitrophenylthio)-analogue. Aryl alkyl tellurides PhTeR and bis(phenyltelluro)methane PhTeCHgTePh can be obtained from PhTeLi and an alkyl halide, or di-iodomethane, respectively. 

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