A tellurite tellurate is a chemical compound or salt that contains tellurite and tellurate anions [TeO3]2- [TeO4 ]2-. These are mixed anion compounds, meaning the compounds are cations that contain one or more anions. Some have third anions. Environmentally, tellurite [TeO3]2- is the more abundant anion due to tellurate's [TeO4 ]2- low solubility limiting its concentration in biospheric waters. Another way to refer to the anions is tellurium's oxyanions, which happen to be relatively stable.[1]
A tellurite tellurate compound may also be called a tellurate tellurite. Compounds that contain the anions follow basic nomenclature rules, the cation is named first, followed by the anion.[2] As individual ions current IUPAC naming conventions dictate that compounds containing what was conventionally known as the tellurite ion, [TeO3]2-, be named as tellurate (IV) compounds, while other tellurates are labeled tellurate (VI) compounds. Furthering confusion, a number of other tellurate oxyanions exist, including pentoxotellurate, [TeO5]4-, and ditellurate, [Te2O10]8-. Additionally, a number of compounds that do not even include tellurium oxyanions still have "tellurate" in their names, as in the case of octafluoridotellurate, [TeF8]2-.[3]
One way to produce a tellurite tellurate compound is by heating oxides together.[4] Tellurite tellurate compounds can also occur naturally as minerals such as Carlfriesite Ca[Te4+2Te6+O8].[5]
Tellurite tellurate compounds can crystalize under certain conditions. Monoclinic and orthorhombic dominate crystal structures of the tellurite tellurates.[5] Most compounds are transparent from near ultraviolet to near infrared. Te-O bonds cause absorption lines in infrared. Sodium tellurite exhibit
Related to these are the selenate selenites and sulfate sulfites by varying the chalcogen.
TeO3:TeO4