Compounds with first discrete M/Sn/Te anions—exhibiting a series of optical absorption energies in the semiconductor range—are obtained by reactions of K+ or Rb+ salts of [SnTe4]4− with MCl2 (M = Mn, Zn, Cd, Hg) in H2O or H2O–MeOH; larger Cs+ cations provoke the formation of a polymeric derivative of the ternary anionic structure.
