Sulfidogermanates or thiogermanates are chemical compounds containing anions with

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

atoms bound to

germanium Germanium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid or a nonmetal in the carbon group that is chemically ...

. They are in the class of chalcogenidotetrelates. Related compounds include

thiosilicate In chemistry and materials science, thiosilicate refers to materials containing anions of the formula . Derivatives where some sulfide is replaced by oxide are also called thiosilicates, examples being materials derived from the oxohexathiodisilica ...

thiostannate Sulfidostannates, or thiostannates are chemical compounds containing anions composed of tin linked with sulfur. They can be considered as stannates with sulfur substituting for oxygen. Related compounds include the thiosilicates, and thiogermanate ...

selenidogermanate Selenidogermanates are compounds with anions with selenium bound to germanium. They are analogous with germanate In chemistry, germanate is a compound containing an oxyanion of germanium. In the naming of inorganic compounds it is a suffix that ...

s, telluridogermanates and

selenidostannate Selenidostannates are chemical compounds which contain anionic units of selenium connected to tin. They can be considered as stannates where selenium substitutes for oxygen. Similar compounds include the selenogermanates and thiostannates. They are ...

s. Coordination of sulfur around germanium is tetrahedral meaning there are four sulfur atoms symmetrically arranged. This basic structure can form ortho salts with GeS₄⁴⁻, oligomers, or polymeric structures. Similar structures are also formed with heavy group 13 and group 14 elements due to their relatively stronger bonds with sulfur. Light elements from these groups have lower affinity for sulfur, so there are fewer compounds like this for boron, aluminium, carbon, and silicon. Other heavy group 12 and 15 elements also form chalcogenidometallates which may have other kinds of coordination. Selenium forms similar compounds to sulfur in this family. Where sulfur is deficient, an anion is not formed, and instead cation-like covalent compounds can exist with halogens, such as Ge₄S₆Br₄, or Ge₄S₆I₄.

Production

The solvochemical method of production involves dissolving germanium oxide, sulfur and other salts in a heated solvent under pressure. The solvents can include simple alcohols, amines or ''N'',''N''-dimethyl formamide. The containers can be glass tubes, quartz tubes, or teflon lined stainless steel.

List

References

{{Sulfides Germanium(IV) compounds Sulfides