Tellurium | Chemistry

Moffat County High School, Craig, Colorado, U.S.A.

Tellurium, 52, Moffat County High School, Colorado USA

Tellurium: Tellurium is a very brittle, non-malleable, silvery white metalloid. It is closely related to both Selenium (Se) and Sulfur (S), and looks very similar to Tin (Sn). Tellurium is used in most alloys, and as a conductor in solar panels. Tellurium is one of the only elements that readily combine with gold (Au). A gold telluride (AuTe₂) mineral was discovered in 1782 by Franz-Joseph Muller von Reichenstein. Martin Heinrich Klaproth named the new element in 1798 after the Latin word for “earth”, tellus. In 1887, the Colorado town of “Columbia” changed its name to “Telluride” now a famous ski town with a rich mining heritage after the element tellurium.

The chemistry students from Moffat County High School were lined up to form the Te symbol. This allowed all the students to have part ownership in the project.

Roger Spears, Chemistry Teacher, Moffat County High School, Craig, Colorado, U.S.A.

Atomic properties*

Name:

Tellurium

Symbol:

Te

Atomic number:

52

Atomic mass:

127.6 amu

Melting point:

449.51°C

Boiling point:

988°C

Density:

6.24 g/cm³

Electronegativity:

2.1

# of Isotopes:

8

State:

Solid

Colour:

Silvery-lustrous-grey±

Classification:

Semi-metallic±

* Haynes, W. M. (2011). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 91st edition: http://www.hbcponline.com/ Retrieved April 7, 2011

± Winter, M. (2010). Home of the Periodic Table. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Web Elements: http://www.webelements.com/