Tellurium

Atomic number

52

Atomic mass (u)

127.6

Category

Metalloid

Standard state

Solid

Melting point

449.51 °C (722.66 K)

Boiling point

987.85 °C (1261 K)

Density (g/cm³)

6.232

Electronegativity (Pauling)

2.1

Electron configuration

[Kr]5s2 4d10 5p4

Oxidation states

+6, +4, -2

Atomic radius (pm)

206

First ionization energy (eV)

9.010

Discovery & recognition

Discovery year / period (PubChem)

1782

Discovery credited to (RSC)

Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein

Date or period recorded by RSC

1783

Discovery place

Not supplied in the structured record; see the RSC history source.

An ancient date does not identify a first human discovery. Different references may date observation, isolation and formal recognition differently.

Natural occurrence & production

The creation of an element’s nuclei and its concentration into terrestrial deposits are different processes. The occurrence note below concerns its presence or production on Earth; it is not a complete account of nucleosynthesis.

“Tellurium is present in the Earth’s crust only in about 0.001 parts per million.”

Royal Society of Chemistry · occurrence excerpt ↗

Continue the research

Reference values are not product specifications. Blank values have not been estimated. For superheavy elements, some properties and family assignments are theoretical or incompletely measured.