Tellurium metal
Properties
Chemical symbol: Te
Name: Tellurium
CAS No.: 13494-80-9
Molar mass: 127.60 g/mol
Density: 6.24 g/cm³
Melting point: approx. 449.5 °C
Boiling point: approx. 988 °C
Color: silvery-white with strong metallic luster
Form: ingots, zone-refined bars, granules, powder or pieces
Crystal structure: trigonal
Semiconductor type: p-type
Band gap: approx. 0.33 eV
Purity: up to 99.9999% (6N) after zone refining
Tellurium (Te) is a rare chalcogen element combining semimetallic and functional semiconductor properties. It is a brittle, silvery-white solid with a strong metallic luster and is commercially supplied as ingots, zone-refined bars, granules, powder or broken pieces.
Tellurium has a trigonal crystal structure based on atomic chains, which contributes to its pronounced brittleness and easy fragmentation. As a p-type semiconductor, it has a narrow direct band gap of approximately 0.33 eV and exhibits pronounced photoconductive and piezoelectric properties.
Tellurium is particularly important in thermoelectric technology. In combination with bismuth, it forms bismuth telluride Bi₂Te₃, one of the key material systems for thermoelectric converters and Peltier cooling devices operating around room temperature.
Tellurium is stable in dry air but oxidizes at elevated temperatures to form tellurium oxide TeO₂. It is insoluble in water and dilute non-oxidizing acids but dissolves readily in concentrated nitric acid and aqua regia.
Industrial tellurium production is mainly associated with electrolytic copper refining. Tellurium-containing material is recovered from anode slimes through roasting, leaching and subsequent refining processes. For electronic applications, zone refining can be used to achieve purity levels of up to 99.9999% (6N).
Tellurium metal is particularly important in thin-film photovoltaics, thermoelectric materials, specialty alloys, infrared materials and phase-change technologies. Would you like to buy tellurium? Auremo can provide information about available purity grades, product forms and delivery conditions. The tellurium price, tellurium metal price and tellurium price per kg depend on purity, product form, quantity and technical specifications.
Advantages
• Important component of high-performance thermoelectric materials
• Suitable for Peltier cooling and thermoelectric generators
• Improves machinability of steels and copper alloys when used as an alloying addition
• Used in CdTe thin-film photovoltaic materials
• Pronounced photoconductive properties
• Piezoelectric behavior
• Suitable for functional mid-infrared materials
• High-purity grades available up to 6N
Applications
• CdTe thin-film solar cells
• Bi₂Te₃ and PbTe thermoelectric materials
• Peltier modules
• Waste-heat recovery systems
• Free-machining and specialty steels
• Tellurium-copper alloys TeCu
• Cast iron and other metallurgical alloys
• Optical data-storage materials
• Phase-Change Memory (PCM / PRAM)
• Functional thin films
• Infrared materials
• Semiconductor and electronic technology
Auremo offers tellurium and other specialty metals for industrial, electronic and research applications. If you have questions about purity, product form, available quantities or delivery conditions, please contact us directly.
