Tellurium (Te) – Periodic Table [Element Information & More]

Tellurium element (Te) is in group 16 and period 5 of a periodic table. Tellurium is in the p-block and it is classified as a metalloid on the periodic table.

There is a lot more information related to tellurium which is mentioned in the Information Table given below.

So let’s dive right into it!

Table of contents

• Tellurium element (Information Table)
• Tellurium element in Periodic table
• Facts about Tellurium
• Properties of Tellurium
• Uses of Tellurium

Tellurium Element (Information Table)

The important data related to tellurium element is given in the table below.

Appearance of tellurium	Crystalline form: Silvery gray lustrous surface Amorphous form: Brown-black powder
Atomic number of tellurium	52
Symbol of tellurium	Te
Atomic mass of tellurium	127.6 u
Protons, Neutrons & Electrons in tellurium	Protons: 52, Neutrons: 76, Electrons: 52
State of tellurium (at STP)	Solid
Group number of tellurium in periodic table	16
Period number of tellurium in periodic table	5
Block of tellurium in periodic table	p-block
Category of tellurium	Metalloids
Bohr model or Electrons per shell or Electrons arrangement in tellurium	2, 8, 18, 18, 6
Electron configuration of tellurium	[Kr] 4d10 5s2 5p4
Orbital diagram of tellurium
Valence electrons in tellurium	6
Electronegativity of tellurium (on pauling scale)	2.1
Atomic radius of tellurium (van der Waals radius)	206 picometers
Density of tellurium	6.24 g/cm3
1st ionization energy of tellurium	9.01 eV
Main isotope of tellurium	130Te
Melting point of tellurium	722.6 K or 449.5 °C or 841.1 °F
Boiling point of tellurium	1261 K or 988 °C or 1810 °F
Crystal structure of tellurium	Hexagonal
Discovery of tellurium	By Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein in 1782

Also see: Interactive Periodic Table (It has rotating bohr models as well as many other details of all the 118 elements in a single periodic table).

Tellurium element in Periodic table

The Tellurium element (Te) has the atomic number 52 and is located in group 16 and period 5. Tellurium is a metalloid and it is classified as a chalcogens element.

Click on above elements in the periodic table to see their information.

Facts about tellurium

Here are a few interesting facts about tellurium element.

1. Tellurium was named after a Latin word “Tellus” which means earth.
2. Tellurium was discovered by Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein in 1782.
3. Most of the tellurium is produced by China and because of this, China ranks #1 for the production of tellurium.
4. Tellurium is found in a mineral form along with gold and other metals.
5. Tellurium shows few properties of metals and few properties of nonmetals.

Properties of tellurium

Here is a list of some physical properties and chemical properties of tellurium.

Physical properties of tellurium

• Tellurium is a metalloid having a silvery white luster.
• There are many isotopes of tellurium, and out of these isotopes, the most abundant isotope is ¹³⁰Te (it has an abundance of around 34%).
• Tellurium has hexagonal crystal structure.
• The melting point and boiling point of tellurium is 722.6 K and 1261 K respectively.
• The density of tellurium is 6.24 g/cm³ and its atomic mass is 127.6 u.

Chemical properties of tellurium

• At higher temperatures, tellurium reacts with oxygen and forms Tellurium oxide.
• Tellurium produces a greenish-blue flame when it is heated in the presence of air.
• Tellurium has an electronegativity of 2.1 on the pauling scale.
• The common oxidation states of tellurium are +4 and +5.

Uses of tellurium

Here are some uses of the tellurium element.

• Tellurium is added to metals like steel and copper. Because of this, the machinability of these metals can be improved.
• The strength and corrosive resistance property of lead can be improved by adding tellurium to it.
• Tellurium metal is also used in ceramics as well as in some castings.
• Some superconductors also contain tellurium metal in it.
• Tellurium is also used in solar panels.

External resources:

1. Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. (n.d.). Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. https://periodic.lanl.gov/52.shtml
2. Medina-Cruz, D., Tien-Street, W., Vernet-Crua, A., Zhang, B., Huang, X., Murali, A., Chen, J., Liu, Y., Garcia-Martin, J. M., Cholula-Díaz, J. L., & Webster, T. (2020). Tellurium, the Forgotten Element: A Review of the Properties, Processes, and Biomedical Applications of the Bulk and Nanoscale Metalloid. Racing for the Surface, 723–783. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34471-9_26
3. Tellurium – Wikipedia. (2010, January 16). Tellurium – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tellurium
4. Atomic Weight of Tellurium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. (n.d.). Atomic Weight of Tellurium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. https://ciaaw.org/tellurium.htm
5. Atomic Data for Tellurium (Te). (n.d.). Atomic Data for Tellurium (Te). https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/Handbook/Tables/telluriumtable1.htm
6. Tellurium – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table. (n.d.). Tellurium – Element Information, Properties and Uses | Periodic Table. https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/52/tellurium
7. It’s Elemental – The Element Tellurium. (n.d.). It’s Elemental – the Element Tellurium. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele052.html
8. P. (n.d.). Tellurium | Te (Element) – PubChem. Tellurium | Te (Element) – PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Tellurium
9. Possolo, et al. (2018, January 4). Interpreting and propagating the uncertainty of the standard atomic weights (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry, 90(2), 395–424. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2016-0402
10. Emsley, J. (2011). Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. United Kingdom: OUP Oxford.
11. Haynes, W. M. (Ed.). (2014, June 4). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. https://doi.org/10.1201/b17118
12. Electronic structure of the elements. (2000, March). The European Physical Journal C, 15(1–4), 78–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02683401
13. James A. M. & Lord M. P. (1992). Macmillan’s chemical and physical data. Macmillan.
14. Bedford, et al. (1996, April 1). Recommended values of temperature on the International Temperature Scale of 1990 for a selected set of secondary reference points. Metrologia, 33(2), 133–154. https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/33/2/3
15. Allred, A. (1961, June). Electronegativity values from thermochemical data. Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, 17(3–4), 215–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1902(61)80142-5