Book excerpt: The Chemistry of Sulfur, Selenium, Tellurium and Polonium deals with the chemistry of sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium. The history, occurrence and distribution, and production of all four elements are discussed, along with their industrial uses, purification, and allotropy; nuclear, physical, and chemical properties; and biological activities. Comprised of two chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the history, occurrence and distribution, and production of sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium, as well as their industrial uses, purification, and allotropy; nuclear, physical, and chemical properties; and biological activities. The compounds of all four elements are also considered, including sulfanes, sulfur halides, oxides and oxyacids, and compounds composed of sulfur, nitrogen, and halogen; peroxides, hydroxides and oxo-acids, sulfides, nitrides and azides, carbon selenides and tellurides; carbonates, salts of organic acids, alkoxides, nitrates, phosphates, chromates, halates and perhalates, and organo-compounds. This book will be of interest to inorganic chemists as well as students and researchers in the field of inorganic chemistry.