Metalloid nanocrystals may enable lithium-ion batteries to be replaced by more powerful sodium ion batteries. Tellurium, which is a semiconductor in its standard state, is used mainly as a component in type II/VI semiconducting-chalcogenides; these have applications in electro-optics and electronics. Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is used in solar modules for its high conversion efficiency, low manufacturing costs, and large band gap of 1.44 eV, letting it absorb a wide range of wavelengths. Bismuth telluride (BiTe), alloyed with selenium and antimony, is a component of thermoelectric devices used for refrigeration or portable power generation. Five metalloids—boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, and antimony—can be
Tellurium the planet. Tellurium-bearing compounds were first discovered in 1782 in a gold mine in Zlatna, Romania by Austrian mineralogist Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein, although it was Martin Heinrich Klaproth who named the new element in 1798 after the Latin word for "earth", "tellus". Gold telluride minerals are the most notable natural gold compounds. However, they are not a commercially significant source of tellurium itself, which is normally extracted as a by-product of copper and lead production. Commercially, the primary use of tellurium is copper and steel alloys, where it improves machinability. Applications in CdTe solar panels and semiconductors also consume