Tellurium Metals: the Most Metallic of the Non-metals
High purity tellurium metal is obtained by extracting and refining tellurium powder with sodium polysulfide as raw material, with purity as high as 99.99999% (7N). It is used as additive in semiconductor devices, alloys, chemical raw materials and cast iron, rubber, glass and other industries.
Tellurium has two isomers, black powdery, amorphous tellurium and silver-white, metallic, hexagonal crystalline tellurium. It is a semiconductor with a forbidden bandwidth of 0.34 eV.
It is a non-metallic element, but it has very good heat and electrical conductivity. Of all the non-metallic companions, it is the most metallic.
Tellurium metal burns in air with a blue flame, producing tellurium dioxide; reacts with halogens, but not with sulfur or selenium. Soluble in sulfuric acid, nitric acid, potassium hydroxide and potassium cyanide solutions. Reacts with molten KCN to produce K2Te.
It is chemically very similar to sulfur and selenium and is somewhat toxic. When heated and melted in air, it produces a white smoke of tellurium oxide. It causes nausea, headache, thirst, itchy skin and palpitations.
When the human body inhales very low concentrations of tellurium, it produces an unpleasant garlic odor in the breath, sweat and urine. This odor can be easily detected by others, but is often unbeknownst to the person.
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