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Hydrogen telluride
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<h2 id="synthesis">Synthesis</h2> <p>Electrolytic methods have been developed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p>H2Te can also be prepared by hydrolysis of the telluride derivatives of electropositive metals.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> The typical hydrolysis is that of <a href="/facts/Aluminium_telluride/Y16rpdWl">aluminium telluride</a>: </p> Al2Te3 + 6 H2O → 2 Al(OH)3 + 3 H2Te <p>Other salts of Te2− such as MgTe and <a href="/facts/Sodium_telluride/AreCHK4x">sodium telluride</a> can also be used. Na2Te can be made by the reaction of Na and Te in anhydrous <a href="/facts/Ammonia/MtLtJFtz">ammonia</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> The intermediate in the hydrolysis, HTe−, can be isolated as salts as well. NaHTe can be made by reducing tellurium with <a href="/facts/Sodium_borohydride/D2Hwts5x">NaBH4</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>Hydrogen telluride cannot be efficiently prepared from its constituent elements, in contrast to H2Se.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="properties">Properties</h2> <p>H2Te is an <a href="/facts/Endothermic/06xmHw6Q">endothermic</a> compound, degrading to the elements at room temperature: </p> H2Te → H2 + Te <p>Light accelerates the decomposition. It is unstable in air, being oxidized to water and elemental tellurium:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> 2 H2Te + O2 → 2 H2O + 2 Te <p>It is almost as acidic as <a href="/facts/Phosphoric_acid/l6NbwyCv">phosphoric acid</a> (<i>K</i>a = 8.1×10−3), having a <i>K</i>a value of about 2.3×10−3.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> It reacts with many metals to form tellurides.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Dimethyl_telluride/8X25Tt4n">Dimethyl telluride</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Greenwood, N. N.; & Earnshaw, A. (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd Edn.), Oxford:Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-3365-4. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>F. Fehér, "Hydrogen Telluride" in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. Edited by G. Brauer, Academic Press, 1963, NY. Vol. 1. pp. 438. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Shriver, Atkins. Inorganic Chemistry, Fifth Edition. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 2010; pp 407. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Nicola Petragnani; Hélio A. Stefani (2007). Tellurium in organic synthesis. Best synthetic methods (2nd ed.). Academic Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-08-045310-1. <a href="978-0-08-045310-1" target="_blank">978-0-08-045310-1</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Nicola Petragnani; Hélio A. Stefani (2007). Tellurium in organic synthesis. Best synthetic methods (2nd ed.). Academic Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-08-045310-1. <a href="978-0-08-045310-1" target="_blank">978-0-08-045310-1</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>F. Fehér, "Hydrogen Telluride" in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. Edited by G. Brauer, Academic Press, 1963, NY. Vol. 1. pp. 438. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Egon Wiberg; Arnold Frederick Holleman (2001). Nils Wiberg (ed.). Inorganic chemistry. Translated by Mary Eagleson. Academic Press. p. 589. ISBN 0-12-352651-5. <a href="0-12-352651-5" target="_blank">0-12-352651-5</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Egon Wiberg; Arnold Frederick Holleman (2001). Nils Wiberg (ed.). Inorganic chemistry. Translated by Mary Eagleson. Academic Press. p. 589. ISBN 0-12-352651-5. <a href="0-12-352651-5" target="_blank">0-12-352651-5</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Henry Enfield Roscoe; Carl Schorlemmer (1878). A treatise on chemistry. Vol. 1. Appleton. pp. 367–368. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>