History - tellurium.de

Discovery

From ‘Problem Metal’ to a Name Inspired by the Earth

Tellurium was discovered in 1782 by the Austrian mineralogist and mining engineer Franz Joseph Müller von Reichenstein. While examining gold-bearing ores from Transylvania, now part of Romania, he encountered an unknown substance that he could not identify. He therefore referred to it as „metallum problematicum“, meaning “problematic metal”.

It was not until 1798 that the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth confirmed that it was a previously unknown element and recognized Müller von Reichenstein as its discoverer. Klaproth named the element tellurium, after Tellus, the Latin word for earth and also the name of the Roman goddess of the earth.

Interestingly, when the chemically related element selenium was discovered in 1817, its name was derived from Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon.

Franz Joseph Müller von Reichenstein, AI representation

Extraction

Production Is Becoming Increasingly Concentrated

For a long time after its discovery, tellurium had little commercial significance. Around 1920, modest demand began to emerge, particularly in the electrical and electroplating sectors, as well as in the chemical industry. Then, as now, tellurium was primarily obtained as a byproduct of electrolytic copper refining. Over the course of the 20th century, tellurium was produced in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Peru, and the Soviet Union (and later Russia), among other places. Sweden and Belgium also played a role in the market at times. In recent decades, China has significantly strengthened its position as a tellurium producer through the major expansion of its copper refining capacity.

Historical areas of application

From Cast Iron to Thin-Film Solar Cells

The first industrial demand for tellurium arose around 1920, primarily for electrical devices, electroplating, and chemical applications. In the 1930s, lead alloys and rubber compounds were added to the list. During World War II, demand rose due to its use as a carbon stabilizer in cast iron; later, tellurium also gained importance in copper alloys.

Starting in the 1960s, thermoelectric components based on bismuth telluride found widespread use. These are used to cool electronics, sensors, and medical devices, or to convert temperature differences into electrical energy. At the same time, free-cutting steel emerged as the most important area of application. In the 1970s, tellurium-containing catalysts for the petrochemical industry were added to the list.

Today, cadmium telluride thin-film solar cells are the primary application. However, thermoelectric components and metal alloys remain relevant.