Low Temperature Activation of Tellurium and Resource-Efficient Synthesis of AuTe2 and Ag2 Te in Ionic Liquids.

The low temperature syntheses of AuTe2 and Ag2 Te starting from the elements were investigated in the ionic liquids (ILs) [BMIm]X and [P66614 ]Z ([BMIm]+ =1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium; X = Cl, [HSO4 ]- , [P66614 ]+  = trihexyltetradecylphosphonium; Z = Cl- , Br- , dicyanamide [DCA]- , bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [NTf2 ]- , decanoate [dec]- , acetate [OAc]- , bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)phosphinate [BTMP]- ). Powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed that [P66614 ]Cl is the most promising candidate for the single phase synthesis of AuTe2 at 200 °C. Ag2 Te was obtained using the same ILs by reducing the temperature in the flask to 60 °C. Even at room temperature, quantitative yield was achieved by using either 2 mol % of [P66614 ]Cl in dichloromethane or a planetary ball mill. Diffusion experiments, 31 P and 125 Te-NMR, and mass spectroscopy revealed one of the reaction mechanisms at 60 °C. Catalytic amounts of alkylphosphanes in commercial [P66614 ]Cl activate tellurium and form soluble phosphane tellurides, which react on the metal surface to solid telluride and the initial phosphane. In addition, a convenient method for the purification of [P66614 ]Cl was developed.