Product Name: Tellurium
Cas No.: 13494-80-9
MF: Te
MW: 127.6
Appearance: It is a silvery-white brittle element.
Description:
Due to its metalloid properties, it is extensively used in making alloys and semiconductors. Mentioned below are some of the major applications of this element.

Metal Alloys
One of the prominent uses of tellurium is alloying. An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals fused together in a melting process to enhance properties like ductility and tensile strength. this metalloid is added to metals like lead (Pb) to increase durability and resilience of the metal. Also, tellurium based alloys are not affected by the corrosive action of sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Tellurium is also added to stainless steel and copper (Cu) to increase the ductility in them. Cast iron alloys also contain tellurium which aids in regulation of temperatures.

Semiconductors
Tellurium has potential application in making of semiconductors for industrial applications. Tellurium when alloyed with cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) forms a compound mercury cadmium telluride, which serves as an excellent infrared sensitive semiconductor. Organotellurium compounds like dimethyl telluride and diisopropyl telluride are used as precursors for compound semiconductors. Tellurium with bismuth (Bi) finds a potential use in thermoelectric devices. It enhances the effectiveness of the solar cell electric power generation. Hence many solar panels contain cadmium telluride (CdTe) which is a p type semiconductor. When alloyed with zinc, tellurium makes a good gamma ray detector. With mercury, tellurium is used in making versatile infrared detectors.

Other Uses
Tellurium is extensively used in making ceramics, chalcogenide glasses, tinting glasses, blasting caps and initiators that are used in radical polymerization reactions. This is because of the antioxidant activity of the di-tellurides. One of the major uses is in industrial applications like making thermoelectric apparatuses. It is also used in the process of vulcanizing rubber. Tellurium is used as a gasoline additive to reduce engine knocks in automobiles.