Knowra Tellurium Tellurium Tellurium is a brittle, silvery-white chemical element with atomic number 52. This rare metalloid is used in alloys, semiconductor devices, and some solar cells.
Cadmium telluride photovoltaics : A thin-film solar-cell technology that uses cadmium telluride as its light-absorbing semiconductor. Tellurium is a key constituent of the semiconductor that converts sunlight into electricity.
Chalcogen : An element in group 16 of the periodic table, including oxygen, sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium. Tellurium’s group membership helps explain its chemical similarities to sulfur and selenium.
Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein : An Austrian mineralogist who first identified tellurium in gold ores from Transylvania in the late eighteenth century. His analysis of gold ore produced the first recognition of the element.
Tellurium production : The industrial recovery of tellurium, chiefly as a by-product of copper refining. Its dependence on copper processing constrains supply as demand for tellurium grows.
Bismuth telluride : A semiconductor compound used in thermoelectric devices near room temperature. Tellurium forms this compound, which converts temperature differences into electrical voltage.
Tellurium allotropes : Different structural forms of tellurium, including crystalline and amorphous forms. Its structure changes its appearance and physical properties.
Martin Heinrich Klaproth : A German chemist who confirmed tellurium as a new element and named it in 1798. Klaproth established the element’s identity and gave it its name.
Critical minerals : Mineral resources considered essential to economies or security and vulnerable to supply disruption. Tellurium’s concentrated, by-product supply makes it relevant to critical-mineral planning.
Tellurium dioxide : An oxide of tellurium used in optical materials, glass, and acousto-optic devices. Tellurium dioxide extends the element’s uses into specialized optical materials.
Tellurium chemistry : The reactions and compounds of tellurium, including its oxides, halides, and metal tellurides. Its chemistry accounts for the compounds used in materials and industrial processes.
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