TELLURIUM COMPOUNDS OF THE MAIN-GROUP ELEMENTS - PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS

Tellurium compounds of the main-group elements are attracting increasi ng attention as potential single-source precursors for binary tellurid es that have desirable properties for applications in the electronics and related industries. In addition, many tellurium compounds exhibit unique structures that are of fundamental interest and multiply-bonded derivatives often display unusual reactivity. Recent progress and fut ure prospects in these three aspects of tellurium chemistry are discus sed. The cover picture shows the structure of the spirocyclic telluriu m(IV) compound Bu(t)N)P(mu-NBu(t))(2)Te(mu-NBu(t))(2)P(NBu(t))Ph, whic h is prepared by the reaction of the novel cluster [{Li2Te(NBu(t))(3)} (2)] with 2 equivalents of PhPCl(2).