Chalcogens and Metal Chalcogenides

Abstract

It is common that the three heaviest elements of the sulfur sub-group, namely selenium, tellurium, and polonium, be collectively referred to as the ``chalcogens,'' and the term chalcogen be addressed only for these elements -- in practice, only for the chemically and technologically important selenium and tellurium; however, according to the official guides to inorganic nomenclature, the term applies equally to all the elements in Group 16 of the Periodic Table, thus being proper also for oxygen and sulfur. On the other hand, several textbooks imply that oxygen is excluded from the chalcogens, this probably being the consequence of having discussed the chemistry of oxygen in a separate chapter [1].