New Tellurometalates of Gallium and Indium: K[K([18]crown-6)]2[GaTe3] · 2CH3CN and [(NEt4)5][In3Te7] · 0.5 Et2O

The tellurometalate ions [GaTe3]3− and [In3Te7]5− have been prepared by chemical reduction of Ga2Te3 and In2 Te3, respectively, by potassium in liquid NH3 in the presence of an encapsulating ligand. The [GaTe3]3− ion is essentially trigonal planar; the [In3Te7]5− ion is cuboidal, where one corner is missing (structure shown on the right). These anions have no counterparts in S or Se chemistry.