Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
The compound Th13Te24O74 was prepared by three independent methods, namely, thermal decomposition of ThTe2O6 in oxygen and argon and direct solid-state reaction of ThO2 and TeO2. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns of the three products, by and large, are similar, except for some differences in intensities and extra diffraction lines. The thermal decomposition of ThTe2O6 was carried out in the streams of oxygen and argon by thermogravimetry at a heating rate of 5 K/min in the temperature range of 725–840 °C. The solid-state reaction of ThO2 and TeO2 (13:24) was carried out in a sealed ampoule at 700 °C. The measured density of this compound is 8.23 g/cm3. An orthorhombic lattice with unit cell parameters, a=11.310±0.005 Å, b=14.064±0.006 Å, c=9.056±0.004 Å, and volume of 1440.419±1.088 (Å)3 was determined for this compound.