Tellurium

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52 antimonytelluriumiodine
Se

Te

Po
Te-TableImage.png
periodic table
General
Name, Symbol, Number tellurium, Te, 52
Chemical series metalloids
Group, Period, Block 16, 5, p
Appearance silvery lustrous gray
Te,52.jpg
Atomic mass 127.60(3) g/mol
Electron configuration [Kr] 4d10 5s2 5p4
Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 18, 6
Physical properties
Phase solid
Density (near r.t.) 6.24 g/cm³
Liquid density at m.p. 5.70 g/cm³
Melting point 722.66 K
(449.51 °C, 841.12 °F)
Boiling point 1261 K
(988 °C, 1810 °F)
Heat of fusion 17.49 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization 114.1 kJ/mol
Heat capacity (25 °C) 25.73 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure
P/Pa 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k
at T/K     (775) (888) 1042 1266
Atomic properties
Crystal structure hexagonal
Oxidation states ±2, 4, 6
(mildly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity 2.1 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more)
1st: 869.3 kJ/mol
2nd: 1790 kJ/mol
3rd: 2698 kJ/mol
Atomic radius 140 pm
Atomic radius (calc.) 123 pm
Covalent radius 135 pm
Van der Waals radius 206 pm
Miscellaneous
Magnetic ordering nonmagnetic
Thermal conductivity (300 K)
(1.97–3.38) W/(m·K)
Speed of sound (thin rod) (20 °C) 2610 m/s
Speed of sound (thin rod) (r.t.) 43 m/s
Shear modulus 16 GPa
Bulk modulus 65 GPa
Mohs hardness 2.25
Brinell hardness 180 MPa
CAS registry number 13494-80-9
Notable isotopes
Main article: Isotopes of tellurium
iso NA half-life DM DE (MeV) DP
120Te 0.096% Te is stable with 68 neutrons
122Te 2.603% Te is stable with 70 neutrons
123Te 0.908% >1.0×1013 y ε 0.051 123Sb
124Te 4.816% Te is stable with 72 neutrons
125Te 7.139% Te is stable with 73 neutrons
126Te 18.952% Te is stable with 74 neutrons
128Te 31.687% 2.2×1024 y ββ 0.867 128Xe
130Te 33.799% 7.9×1020 y ββ 2.528 130Xe

Tellurium (IPA: /tiˈlʊəriəm, tɛ-/) (chemical symbol Te, atomic number 52) is a chemical element that is classified as a metalloid. A brittle silver-white in color, it looks like tin. Tellurium is chemically related to selenium and sulfur. This element is primarily used in alloys and as a semiconductor.

Notable characteristics

Tellurium crystal

Tellurium is a relatively rare element, in the same chemical family as oxygen, sulfur, selenium, and polonium (the chalcogens).


When crystalline, tellurium is silvery-white and when it is in its pure state it has a metallic luster. This is a brittle and easily pulverized metalloid. Amorphous tellurium is found by precipitating it from a solution of tellurous or telluric acid (Te(OH)6). However, there is some debate whether this form is really amorphous or made of minute crystals. Tellurium is a p-type semiconductor that shows a greater conductivity in certain directions which depends on atomic alignment.

Chemically related to selenium and sulfur, the conductivity of this element increases slightly when exposed to light. It can be doped with copper, gold, silver, tin, or other metals. Tellurium has a greenish-blue flame when burned in normal air and forms tellurium dioxide as a result. When in its molten state, tellurium is corrosive to copper, iron, and stainless steel.

Applications

It is mostly used in alloys with other metals. It is added to lead to improve its strength, durability and to decrease the corrosive action of sulfuric acid. When added to stainless steel and copper it makes these metals more workable. Other uses:

  • It is alloyed into cast iron for chill control.
  • Used in ceramics.
  • It is used in chalcogenide glasses.
  • Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) has found use in thermoelectric devices.

Tellurium is also used in blasting caps, and has potential applications in cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar panels. Some of the highest efficiencies for solar cell electric power generation have been obtained by using this material, but this application has not yet caused demand to increase significantly. If some of the cadmium in CdTe is replaced by zinc then CdZnTe is formed which is used in solid-state x-ray detectors.

Alloyed with both cadmium and mercury, to form mercury cadmium telluride, an infrared sensitive semiconductor material is formed.

Organic tellurides have been employed as initiators for living radical polymerisation and electron-rich mono- and di-tellurides possess antioxidant activity.

History

Tellurium (Latin tellus meaning "earth") was discovered in 1782 by the Hungarian Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein (Müller Ferenc) in Transylvania. In 1789 another Hungarian scientist, Pál Kitaibel, also discovered the element independently, but later he gave the credit to Müller. In 1798 it was named by Martin Heinrich Klaproth who earlier isolated it.

The 1960s brought growth in thermoelectric applications for tellurium, as well as its use in free-machining steel, which became the dominant use.

Occurrence

Tellurium is sometimes found in its native (elemental) form, but is more often found as the tellurides of gold (calaverite, krennerite, petzite, sylvanite, and others). Tellurium compounds are the only chemical compounds of gold found in nature, but tellurium itself (unlike gold) is also found combined with other elements (in metallic salts). The principal source of tellurium is from anode sludges produced during the electrolytic refining of blister copper. It is a component of dusts from blast furnace refining of lead. Tellurium is produced mainly in the US, Canada, Peru, and Japan.

Commercial-grade tellurium, which is not toxic, is usually marketed as minus 200-mesh powder but is also available as slabs, ingots, sticks, or lumps. The yearend price for tellurium in 2000 was US$ 14 per pound.

  • See also: Telluride, Colorado, category:Telluride minerals

Compounds

Tellurium is in the same series as sulfur and selenium and forms similar compounds. A compound with metal or hydrogen and similar ions is called a telluride. Gold and silver tellurides are considered good ores. See also Cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe), Telluric acid (H6TeO6). Compounds with tellurate ions complexes TeO42- or TeO66- are known as tellurates.

See also
Category:Tellurium compounds

Isotopes

There are 30 known isotopes of tellurium with atomic masses that range from 108 to 137. Naturally found tellurium consists of eight isotopes (listed in the table to the right); three of them are observed to be radioactive. 128Te has the longest known half-life time (2.2×1024 years) among all radioactive isotopes.

Precautions

Humans exposed to as little as 0.01 mg/m3 or less in air develop "tellurium breath", which has a garlic-like odor. The garlic odour that is associated with human intake of tellurium compounds is caused from the tellurium being metabolized by the body. When the body metabolizes tellurium in any oxidation state, the tellurium gets converted into dimethyl telluride. Dimethyl telluride is volatile and produces the garlic-like smell.

Tellurium and tellurium compounds should be considered to be toxic and need to be handled with care.

References
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External links

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