Tellurium Ingots & ndash; presented in crystalline form, has a silvery-white shiny color. Refers to semimetals, outwardly similar to antimony and tin. It is very fragile, due to which it can be easily crushed. Melting point 449.8 ° C. It dissolves in alkalis, lends itself to the action of nitric and sulfuric acids. In chemical compounds with non-metals, tellurium exhibits similar properties to selenium and sulfur.

Tellurium, like selenium, is produced commercially exclusively from the by-products of large-scale electrolytic copper and nickel production.

Main areas of application:
1. Alternative energy & ndash; production of solar panels. Tellurium is doped with cadmium to produce cadmium telluride, which is used in photovoltaic thin-film solar panels. For today & ndash; it is the largest consumer of tellurium in the world
2. Metallurgy: used as an alloying additive in the production of lead-tellurium alloys, which are used in cable and chemical industries. Alloy with tellurium, also copper and steel to facilitate their machining
3. Glass and rubber production. Tellurium (in the form of dioxide) is used in the melting of special types of glass, which are used as active bodies of optical quantum generators. In addition, some tellurium-based glasses are semiconductors, which favors their use in electronics. Also, tellurium compounds are used in rubber vulcanization.
4. Microelectronics. The compound of tungsten and tellurium is a ferroelectric & mdash; one of the 'materials of the future'. This alloy can become a unique basis for ultra-efficient computers, and can also be used as a `` memory of the future '', where information will be recorded in the form of a combination of similar electrons.

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