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Structure

Polonium tetrachloride is either monoclinic or triclinic.

Appearance

Polonium tetrachloride is bright yellow at room temperature. At its melting point (300 °C), it becomes straw yellow, and at its boiling point (390 °C), it becomes scarlet. Its vapours are purple-brown until 500 °C, when they turn blue-green.²

Preparation

Polonium tetrachloride may be prepared by:

• halogenation of polonium dioxide with dry hydrogen chloride, gaseous thionyl chloride, or phosphorus pentachloride;³
• dissolving of polonium metal in hydrochloric acid;
• heating polonium dioxide to 200 °C in carbon tetrachloride vapour;
• reaction of polonium metal with dry chlorine gas in 200 °C.

Chemistry

Polonium tetrachloride forms a complex with two moles of tributyl phosphate.

Like selenium tetrachloride and tellurium tetrachloride, polonium tetrachloride forms PoCl−5 and PoCl2−6 halogen complexes.⁴

References

1. Holleman, Arnold Frederik; Wiberg, Egon (2001), Wiberg, Nils (ed.), Inorganic Chemistry, translated by Eagleson, Mary; Brewer, William, San Diego/Berlin: Academic Press/De Gruyter, p. 594, ISBN 0-12-352651-5 0-12-352651-5 ↩

2. Holleman, Arnold Frederik; Wiberg, Egon (2001), Wiberg, Nils (ed.), Inorganic Chemistry, translated by Eagleson, Mary; Brewer, William, San Diego/Berlin: Academic Press/De Gruyter, p. 594, ISBN 0-12-352651-5 0-12-352651-5 ↩

3. Holleman, Arnold Frederik; Wiberg, Egon (2001), Wiberg, Nils (ed.), Inorganic Chemistry, translated by Eagleson, Mary; Brewer, William, San Diego/Berlin: Academic Press/De Gruyter, p. 594, ISBN 0-12-352651-5 0-12-352651-5 ↩

4. Holleman, Arnold Frederik; Wiberg, Egon (2001), Wiberg, Nils (ed.), Inorganic Chemistry, translated by Eagleson, Mary; Brewer, William, San Diego/Berlin: Academic Press/De Gruyter, p. 594, ISBN 0-12-352651-5 0-12-352651-5 ↩