What is the Ionic Charge of Tellurium (Te)? And Why?

The common Ionic Charges of Tellurium (Te) are 4+ and 6+, but it also shows other ionic charges like 1+, 2+, etc.

But the question is how can you find the ionic charge on Tellurium (Te)?

Well, tellurium is one of the elements that have a variable ionic charge.

The ionic charge of tellurium depends on what it is bonded with.

So let’s try to find out the ionic charge of Tellurium (Te) using some examples.

You can also refer to the below video from which you will learn to find charge of any ion.

How to find the ionic charge of Tellurium (Te)?

As I mentioned earlier, the ionic charge of Tellurium (Te) can be found out by looking at what it is bonded with.

So let’s take examples of compounds of Tellurium (Te) like TeCl₂, TeF₆, TeO₂, etc.

Example 1: TeCl₂
In TeCl₂, the Tellurium (Te) is bonded to Chlorine (Cl).
You know that the ionic charge of Cl is 1-.
So you can easily say that the ionic charge of Te should be 2+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Tellurium in TeCl₂ is 2+.

Example 2: TeF₆
In TeF₆, the Tellurium (Te) is bonded to Fluorine (F).
And again, you know that the ionic charge of F is 1-.
So here also you can easily say that the ionic charge of Te should be 6+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Tellurium in TeF₆ is 6+.

Example 3: TeO₂
Similarly in TeO₂, the Tellurium (Te) is bonded to Oxygen (O).
And you know that the ionic charge of O is 2-.
So from this, you can easily say that the ionic charge of Te should be 4+ then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Tellurium in TeO₂ is 4+.

In this way, Tellurium can have variable charges depending on what it is bonded to.

I hope you have understood why tellurium has variable ionic charges.

Check out some other related topics for your practice.

Related topics:
Charge of Krypton (Kr)
Charge on Bromate ion (BrO3)
Charge on SCN
Charge on H3PO4
Charge on HSO4 (Hydrogen Sulfate ion)