The chalcogens are the chemical elements in group 16 of the periodic table. This group is also known as the oxygen family. Group 16 consists of the elements oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), and the radioactive elements polonium (Po) and livermorium (Lv). Often, oxygen is treated separately from the other chalcogens, sometimes even excluded from the scope of the term "chalcogen" altogether, due to its very different chemical behavior from sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium. The word "chalcogen" is derived from a combination of the Greek word khalkόs (χαλκός) principally meaning copper, and the Latinized Greek word genēs, meaning born or produced.
A metalloid is a chemical element which has a preponderance of properties in between, or that are a mixture of, those of metals and nonmetals. There is no standard definition of a metalloid and no complete agreement on which elements are metalloids. Despite the lack of specificity, the term remains in use in the literature of chemistry.
Tellurium dioxide (TeO2) is a solid oxide of tellurium. It is encountered in two different forms, the yellow orthorhombic mineral tellurite, β-TeO2, and the synthetic, colourless tetragonal (paratellurite), α-TeO2. Most of the information regarding reaction chemistry has been obtained in studies involving paratellurite, α-TeO2.
Tellurium hexafluoride is the inorganic compound of tellurium and fluorine with the chemical formula TeF6. It is a colorless, highly toxic gas with an unpleasant odor.
Ditellurium decafluoride was widely reported in the literature but what was believed to be Te2F10 has been shown to be bis(pentafluorotelluryl) oxide, F5TeOTeF5. An account as to how this error occurred was made by P. M. Watkins.
Silicon tetraiodide is the chemical compound with the formula SiI4. It is a tetrahedral molecule with Si-I bond lengths of 2.432(5) Å.
Tellurium tetraiodide (TeI4) is an inorganic chemical compound. It has a tetrameric structure which is different from the tetrameric solid forms of TeCl4 and TeBr4. In TeI4 the Te atoms are octahedrally coordinated and edges of the octahedra are shared.
Selenium compounds are compounds containing the element selenium (Se). Among these compounds, selenium has various oxidation states, the most common ones being −2, +4, and +6. Selenium compounds exist in nature in the form of various minerals, such as clausthalite, guanajuatite, tiemannite, crookesite etc., and can also coexist with sulfide minerals such as pyrite and chalcopyrite. For many mammals, selenium compounds are essential. For example, selenomethionine and selenocysteine are selenium-containing amino acids present in the human body. Selenomethionine participates in the synthesis of selenoproteins. The reduction potential and pKa (5.47) of selenocysteine are lower than those of cysteine, making some proteins have antioxidant activity. Selenium compounds have important applications in semiconductors, glass and ceramic industries, medicine, metallurgy and other fields.
Tin(IV) iodide, also known as stannic iodide, is the chemical compound with the formula SnI4. This tetrahedral molecule crystallizes as a bright orange solid that dissolves readily in nonpolar solvents such as benzene.
A polonide is a chemical compound of the radioactive element polonium with any element less electronegative than polonium. Polonides are usually prepared by a direct reaction between the elements at temperatures of around 300–400 °C. They are amongst the most chemically stable compounds of polonium, and can be divided into two broad groups:
Tellurium iodide is an inorganic compound with the formula TeI. Two forms are known. Their structures differ from the other monohalides of tellurium. There are three subiodides of tellurium, α-TeI, β-TeI, and Te2I, and one tellurium tetraiodide.
Polonium tetrachloride (also known as polonium(IV) chloride) is a chemical compound with the formula PoCl4. The salt is a hygroscopic bright yellow crystalline solid at room temperature. Above 200 °C, it tends to decompose into polonium dichloride and excess chlorine, similar to selenium tetrachloride and tellurium tetrachloride.
Polonium dioxide (also known as polonium(IV) oxide) is a chemical compound with the formula PoO2. It is one of three oxides of polonium, the other two being polonium monoxide (PoO) and polonium trioxide (PoO3). It is a pale yellow crystalline solid at room temperature. Under lowered pressure (such as a vacuum), it decomposes into elemental polonium and oxygen at 500 °C. It is the most stable oxide of polonium and is an interchalcogen.
Lithium polonide is a chemical compound with the formula Li2Po. It is a polonide, a set of very chemically stable compounds of polonium.
The metallic elements in the periodic table located between the transition metals to their left and the chemically weak nonmetallic metalloids to their right have received many names in the literature, such as post-transition metals, poor metals, other metals, p-block metals and chemically weak metals. The most common name, post-transition metals, is generally used in this article.
Polonium tetranitrate is an inorganic compound, a salt of polonium and nitric acid with the chemical formula Po(NO3)4. The compound is radioactive, forms white crystals.
Polonium sulfide is an inorganic compound of polonium and sulfur with the chemical formula PoS. The compound is radioactive and forms black crystals.
Rhenium tetraiodide is a binary chemical compound of rhenium and iodide with the chemical formula ReI
4.
Polonium(IV) sulfate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula of Po(SO4)2. It forms colourless crystals, and is soluble in water. It can be obtained by the reaction of polonium tetrachloride (or hydrated polonium dioxide) and sulfuric acid. Polonium(IV) sulfate can be reduced to PoSO4 by hydroxylamine in acidic solutions; it decomposes to polonium dioxide at 550 °C. It is radioactive and produces gases as it decays.
Polonium tetrabromide, is a bromide of polonium, with the chemical formula PoBr4.
