Methanetellurol is the

organotellurium compound Organotellurium chemistry describes the synthesis and properties of organotellurium compounds, chemical compounds containing a carbon-tellurium chemical bond. Organotellurium chemistry is a lightly studied area, in part because of it having few appl ...

with the formula . It is the simplest organotellurium compound that has been purified in bulk. It is classified as a

tellurol Tellurols are analogues of alcohol (chemistry), alcohols and phenols where tellurium replaces oxygen. Tellurols, selenols, and thiols have similar properties, but tellurols are the least stable. Although they are fundamental representatives of orga ...

. A colorless gas, it decomposes to Te and

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

near room temperature. It is prepared by reduction of dimethyl ditelluride using Na/ followed by

protonation In chemistry, protonation (or hydronation) is the adding of a proton (or hydron, or hydrogen cation), usually denoted by H+, to an atom, molecule, or ion, forming a conjugate acid. (The complementary process, when a proton is removed from a Brø ...

of the (sodium methanetellurolate) with

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

. Few publications describe this compound as a consequence of its instability and paucity of applications. According to

IR spectroscopy Infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy or vibrational spectroscopy) is the measurement of the interaction of infrared radiation with matter by absorption, emission, or reflection. It is used to study and identify chemical substances or functio ...

, ν_Te-H = 1995 cm⁻¹. For the lighter homologues, ν_E-H = 2342 (E = Se), 2606 (E = S), and 3710 cm⁻¹ (E = O) for

methaneselenol Methaneselenol is the organoselenium compound with the formula . It is the simplest selenol. A colorless, poisonous gas, it is notorious for its foul, putrid odor. It is prepared by reaction of methyl lithium or a methyl Grignard reagent with sel ...

methanethiol Methanethiol (also known as methyl mercaptan) is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula . It is a colorless gas with a distinctive putrid smell. In small amounts, it is pervasive in nature and found in certain foods, such as some n ...

, and

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...

.{{cite journal , doi=10.1080/00945717708069709, title=The Synthesis and the Raman and Infrared Spectra of Methanetellurol, year=1977, last1=Hamada, first1=K., last2=Morishita, first2=H., journal=Synthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic and Metal-Organic Chemistry, volume=7, issue=4, pages=355–366

References

Organotellurium compounds Hydrides Organic compounds with 1 carbon atom