(AgI)₂Te₆ and (AgI)₂Se₆: New Composite Materials with Cyclic Te₆ and Se₆ Molecules Stabilized in the “Solid Solvent” AgI

The new deeply colored solids (AgI) 2 Te 6 and (AgI) 2 Se 6 are obtained under hydrothermal conditions in hydroiodic acid. They contain molecules of cyclic hexatellurium and hexaselenium (Te 6 , Se 6 , respectively, both chair conformations) stabilized in a matrix of AgI. Whereas Se 6 molecules are well known as isolated species in rhombohedral selenium, Te 6 molecules are not known to exist in any modification of that element. They can be stabilized only in an appropriate “solid solvent” like AgI. To date, the new compound (AgI) 2 Te 6 is the second example only of a composite material containing cyclic Te 6 molecules [the first example is Re 6 Te 10 Cl 6 (Te 6 )]. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004)