Tellurium, properties

CADMIUM DUST (AS CD) Cd Synonyms vary depending upon spcciHc compounds Strong oxidizers, elemental sulfur, selenium, tellurium Properties vary depmding upon spcdAc compound ... 

Lead Telluride. Lead teUuride [1314-91 -6] PbTe, forms white cubic crystals, mol wt 334.79, sp gr 8.16, and has a hardness of 3 on the Mohs scale. It is very slightly soluble in water, melts at 917°C, and is prepared by melting lead and tellurium together. Lead teUuride has semiconductive and photoconductive properties. It is used in pyrometry, in heat-sensing instmments such as bolometers and infrared spectroscopes (see Infrared technology AND RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY), and in thermoelectric elements to convert heat directly to electricity (33,34,83). Lead teUuride is also used in catalysts for oxygen reduction in fuel ceUs (qv) (84), as cathodes in primary batteries with lithium anodes (85), in electrical contacts for vacuum switches (86), in lead-ion selective electrodes (87), in tunable lasers (qv) (88), and in thermistors (89). 

Inorganic Compounds. Inorganic selenium compounds are similar to those of sulfur and tellurium. The most important inorganic compounds are the selenides, haUdes, oxides, and oxyacids. Selenium oxidation states are —2, 0, +1, +2, +4, and +6. Detailed descriptions of the compounds, techniques, and methods of preparation, and references to original work are available (1—3,5,6—10, 51—54). Some important physical properties of inorganic selenium compounds are Hsted in Table 3. 

The physical properties of tellurium are generally anistropic. This is so for compressibility, thermal expansion, reflectivity, infrared absorption, and electronic transport. Owing to its weak lateral atomic bonds, crystal imperfections readily occur in single crystals as dislocations and point defects. 

An excellent review of the semiconducting properties of tellurium is available (6). 

Tellurium Sulfide. In the hquid state, teUurium is completely miscible with sulfur. The Te—S phase diagram shows a eutectic at 105—110°C when the sulfur content is 98—99 atom % (94—98 wt %). TeUurium—sulfur aUoys have semiconductor properties (see Semiconductors). Bands attributed to teUurium sulfide [16608-21 -2] TeS, molecules have been observed. 

Tellurium Selenides. TeUurium selenides or selenium teUurides are unknown. The molten elements are miscible in aU proportions. The mixtures are not simple soUd solutions but have a complex stmcture. Like the sulfides, the selenides exhibit semiconductor properties. 

Tellurium pseudohaUdes, such as the dicyanide [14453-24-8] Te(CN)2, the dithiocyanate [83543-04-8] Te(SCN)2, and thiourea complexes with Te(SCN)2, have been prepared. These are similar to the haUdes in properties. 

Tellurium also improves the properties of electrical steels by aiding in the magnetic anisotropy, malleable cast iron (77), and spheroidal (graphitic) cast irons (see also Metal surface TiiEATiffiNTs). 

Copper. The physical properties of pure copper are given in Table 11. The mechanical properties of pure copper are essentially the same as those for ClOl and CllO. The coppers represent a series of alloys ranging from the commercially pure copper, ClOl, to the dispersion hardened alloy C157. The difference within this series is the specification of small additions of phosphoms, arsenic, cadmium, tellurium, sulfur, zirconium, as well as oxygen. To be classified as one of the coppers, the alloy must contain at least 99.3% copper. 

A. Haas, J. Kasprowski, and M. Piyka, Tellurium- and Selenium-Niti ogen Compounds Preparation, Characterization and Properties, Coord. Chem. Rev., 130, 301 (1994). 

Table 16.2 Some atomic and physical properties of selenium, tellurium and polonium...

Basic physical properties of sulfur, selenium, and tellurium are indicated in Table 1.3. Downward the sulfur sub-group, the metallic character increases from sulfur to polonium, so that whereas there exist various non-metallic allotropic states of elementary sulfur, only one allotropic form of selenium is (semi)metallic, and the (semi)metallic form of tellurium is the most common for this element. Polonium is a typical metal. Physically, this trend is reflected in the electrical properties of the elements oxygen and sulfur are insulators, selenium and tellurium behave as semiconductors, and polonium is a typical metallic conductor. The temperature coefficient of resistivity for S, Se, and Te is negative, which is usually considered... 

Table 1.3 Some physical properties of sulfur, selenium, and tellurium...

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