Organopolonium chemistry describes the synthesis and properties of
chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...
s containing a
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent
In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...
to
polonium chemical bond.
As polonium is a highly
radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...
element (its most commonly used isotope,
210Po, has a half-life of about 138 days), organopolonium chemistry is mostly unexplored, and what is known is mostly confined to tracer-level studies due to self-destruction and charring of the compounds by the energetic
alpha decay
Alpha decay or α-decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle (helium nucleus) and thereby transforms or 'decays' into a different atomic nucleus, with a mass number that is reduced by four and an atom ...
of polonium.
Moreover, the C–Po bond is even weaker than the
C–Te and
C–Se bonds; compounds with those bonds tend to decompose over time to form elemental tellurium and selenium respectively.
Identification of such compounds has mostly been accomplished using
chromatography, with analogous tellurium compounds as references, as classical chemical methods cannot be applied. Their production is often accomplished by the beta decay of
210Bi-containing
organobismuth compounds
Organobismuth chemistry is the chemistry of organometallic compounds containing a carbon to bismuth chemical bond. Applications are few. The main bismuth oxidation states are Bi(III) and Bi(V) as in all higher group 15 elements. The energy of a bo ...
. Some compounds have been claimed but not securely identified.
[
Relatively well-characterised derivatives are mostly restricted to dialkyl and diaryl polonides (R2Po), triarylpolonium halides (Ar3PoX), and diarylpolonium dihalides (Ar2PoX2).]chelating agent
Chelation is a type of bonding of ions and molecules to metal ions. It involves the formation or presence of two or more separate coordinate bonds between a polydentate (multiple bonded) ligand and a single central metal atom. These ligands are ...
s, such as 2,3-butanediol
2,3-Butanediol is the organic compound with the formula (CH3CHOH)2. It is classified as a ''vic''-diol (glycol). It exists as three stereoisomers, a chiral pair and the meso isomer. All are colorless liquids. Applications include precursors to ...
and thiourea.[
]
References
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Polonium