Molecular structure of Te(OMe)4.ClTe(OMe)3, a model for ligand exchange between Te(IV) centers
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 9, 2026

Synthesis of Triazole and Tetrazole-Functionalized Zr-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks Through Post-Synthetic Ligand Exchange
Published on: June 23, 2023
1Institut für Anorganische Chemie und Analytische Chemie, Universität Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
Abstract:
ClTe(OiPr)3 could be prepared from stoichiometric amounts of TeCl4 and Te(OiPr)4, a reaction that requires the exchange of ligands between different Te centers. Ligand redistribution between telluranes was studied, and rapid exchange of -Cl and -OR (R = Me, iPr) ligands in solutions of several binary mixtures of Te(OMe)4, Te(OiPr)4, ClTe(OMe)3, and ClTe(OMe)3, and ClTe(OiPr)3 was established by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. The solid-state structure of Te(OMe)4.ClTe(OMe)3, the first structurally characterized adduct between different telluranes, was investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. It exhibits a very short Te-O...Te bridge between the two Te centers and additional Te...O and Te...Cl contacts between different adduct molecules. Selected structural parameters of Te(OMe)4.ClTe(OMe)3 are Te1-Cl1 274.6(3), Te1-O13 191.0(5), Te1-O12 194.9(6), Te1-O11 200.9(7), Te1...O24 226.8(5), Te1...O11a 314.2(8), Te2-O21 191.6(5), Te2-O22 198.7(5), Te2-O23 190.1(5), Te2-O24 225.3(5), Te2...O13 307.8(6), and Te2...O22b 269.2(6) pm and Te2-O24...Te1 126.1(2) degrees. Ab initio (MP2/LANL2DZP) geometry optimization of the model compound Te(OH)4.ClTe(OH)3 revealed that the central Te-O...Te bridge is less symmetric and hence weaker in the isolated adduct molecule than in the solid state. The stability of Te(OMe)4.ClTe(OMe)3 toward decomposition in Te(OMe)4 and ClTe(OMe)3 is attributed to the strengths of the short Te-O...Te bridge between Te(OMe)4 and ClTe(OMe)3. On the basis of the molecular structures of Te(OH)4.ClTe(OH)3 and Te(OMe)4.ClTe(OMe)3, a mechanism for the exchange of -OR groups between Te(IV) centers is proposed.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Predicting Molecular Geometry
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
Valence Bond Theory
Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Complexation Equilibria: The Chelate Effect

