beryllium telluride

Description

Beryllium telluride (BeTe) is a chemical compound whose molecular weight is 136.6122 g/mol. Its CAS number is 12232-27-8 and it has a density of 5.12 g/ cm³. Its structure is one of the sphalerite cF8 group with a space group of F43m (#216). It is a crystalline solid with face-centered symmetry, a = 5.615 ? at 300 K.
It can be prepared by heating the elements together in an inert atmosphere:
Be+ Te+ heat ? BeTe
Te melts at 450°C and Be melts at 1287°C. A heating temperature of 750°C is sufficient to cause complete reaction. BeTe is a crystalline solid with the lattice constant of 0.5615 nm. It is a semiconductor with a large energy gap of around 3 eV. Toxicity is unknown, but both beryllium and tellurium are toxic. Toxic H2Te gas is evolved on exposure to water.

Physical properties

Gray powders, decomposing relatively rapidly in air. Crystallize in structure type B3 (ZnS type), d (BeSe) 4.32, d (BeTe) 5.09.