Sodium hydrogen telluride as a useful nucleophilic reagent for the cleavage of epoxides and of quaternary ammonium salts

Sodium hydrogen telluride opens many epoxides cleanly by an SN₂ process to give telluro-alcohols, which by reduction with nickel boride afford alcohols. An intermediate telluro-alcohol was converted to olefin in high yield by treatment with $\text{p}$-toluene-sulphonyl chloride in pyridine. Quaternary ammonium salt are also cleaved efficiently by sodium hydrogen telluride.