Today we will study tellurium, a chemical element with a shiny and fragile appearance and with its own characteristic in its silvery white color. It has the properties of both metals and nonmetals, which is why we find it located in the semimetal group of our periodic table. In general, this element can be found in the form of a gray powder.
Contents
Electron configuration of tellurium
Tellurium Configuration
1s2 2s2 2s6 3s2 3s6 3d10 4s2 4s6 4d10 5s2 5s4
With electrons per level of: 2, 8, 18,18, 6. Finding thus:
- 2 electrons in its first shell.
- 8 electrons in its second shell.
- 18 electrons in its third shell.
- 18 electrons in its fourth shell.
- 6 electrons in its fifth shell.
That is a total of 52 electrons belonging to Tellurium.
Physical properties
- Tellurium is in the solid state.
- It has a silvery and whitish color.
- It is one of the best known metalloids that currently exist. I say known not because most people know of their existence, but because many of their characteristics and properties are known.
- It has a density of 6240 kg/m3.
- It has a boiling point of 1261k, which is equivalent to 9880C.
- It has a melting point of 722.66k which is equivalent to 4500C.
- It has an enthalpy of fusion of 17.49 kj/mol.
- It has an enthalpy of vaporization of 52.55 kj/mol.
Tellurium Atomic Properties
- Tellurium has an average radius of 140 pm
- A calculated atomic radius of 223 P, I make a parenthesis here to remind you that the Pm is the abbreviation of the pacometer which represents the billionth part of a meter in the System of Measurement.
- It has electronegativity values according to the Pauling scale of 2.1.
- It has a covalent radius of 135 pm.
- Its oxidation states are: + or – 2, 4.6.
- This element presents a percentage between 10-9% of the igneous rock found in the earth’s crust.
Chemical properties
Among some of the chemical properties that we find of this element we have:
- Tellurium is a relatively stable element.
- It is soluble in hydrochloric acid and water but soluble in aqua regia and nitric acid.
- It produces tellurium dioxide upon oxidation with nitric acid, TeO2.
- Reacts with chromic acid to give telluric acid, H2TeO4.
- When it reacts with excess chlorine, it gives rise to tellurium dichloride and tellurium tetrachloride, i.e. TeCl2 and TeCl4.
- It forms tellurides by combining with certain metals and hydrogen.
How can tellurium be obtained and found?
Tellurium can be obtained by combining gold in calaverite. Calaverite is a metallic mineral, also known as tellurium gold. Sometimes it can be found as an element associated with selenium or as a free element. Additionally, what we can find are altaite, hessite, and silver and gold tellurides.
Who discovered tellurium?
Tellurium was discovered by Franz-Joseph Müller in 1782 in gold ores. After being discovered, it was confused with the chemical element number 51, antimony, it was not until 1798 that the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth called it tellurium, when examining said metal.
What is tellurium used for?
- It is used in the Electrons industry for the manufacture of thermoelectric devices and compact discs.
- It is used in the coloring of glasses.
- This element is used to improve the corrosion resistance and durability of lead.
- It is used in solid-state X-ray detectors.
isotopes
In nature, there are 8 isotopes of tellurium, three of which are radioactive. In general, there are 30 isotopes of this element, with atomic masses fluctuating between 108-137. The isotope with the highest half-life among all known radioisotopes of this element is 128 Te. So far today’s study my chemistry minds, I hope you learned something new. See you next time!
