What happens when tellurium(II) chloride reacts with water?

Question

Avery Adams · Accepted Answer

Tellurium(II) chloride is hydrolyzed by water.

Tellurium(II) chloride, #"TeCl"_2#, will be hydrolyzed by water to form tellurium metal, tellourous acid, #"H"_2"TeO"_3#, and hydrochloric acid, #"HCl"#. The balanced chemical equation for this reaction looks like this #2"TeCl"_text(2(s]) + 3"H"_2"O"_text((l]) -> "Te"_text((s]) + "H"_2"TeO"_text(3(aq]) + 4"HCl"_text((aq])# An interesting thing to notice here is that tellurium, which exists in its #+2# oxidation state in tellurium(II) chloride, will be reduced to tellurium metal and oxidized to its #+4# oxidation state in tellorous acid. This implies that you're dealing with a disproportionation reaction, which is the name given to a chemical reaction in which the same chemical species undergoes both oxidation and reduction. I think that the same reaction pattern can be expected for tellurium(II) bromide, #"TeBr"_2#. The hydrolysis of this compound would produce hydrobromic acid, #"HBr"#, instead of hydrochloric acid #2"TeBr"_text(2(s]) + 3"H"_2"O"_text((l]) -> "Te"_text((s]) + "H"_2"TeO"_text(3(aq]) + 4"HBr"_text((aq])#

Natalie Anton · Answer

undefined When tellurium(II) chloride reacts with water, it forms tellurous acid (H2TeO3) and hydrochloric acid (HCl).