Dimethyl telluride is an organotelluride compound, formula ( CH₃)₂ Te, also known by the abbreviation DMTe. This was the first material used to grow

epitaxial Epitaxy (prefix ''epi-'' means "on top of”) is a type of crystal growth or material deposition in which new crystalline layers are formed with one or more well-defined orientations with respect to the crystalline seed layer. The deposited cry ...

cadmium telluride and mercury cadmium telluride using

metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy Metalorganic vapour-phase epitaxy (MOVPE), also known as organometallic vapour-phase epitaxy (OMVPE) or metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD), is a chemical vapour deposition method used to produce single- or polycrystalline thin films. ...

. Dimethyl telluride as a product of microbial metabolism was first discovered in 1939. It is produced by some fungi and bacteria ('' Penicillium brevicaule'', ''P. chrysogenum'', and '' P. notatum'' and the bacterium ''

Pseudomonas fluorescens ''Pseudomonas fluorescens'' is a common Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium. It belongs to the ''Pseudomonas'' genus; 16S rRNA analysis as well as phylogenomic analysis has placed ''P. fluorescens'' in the ''P. fluorescens'' group within the genu ...

''). The toxicity of DMTe is unclear. It is produced by the body when

tellurium Tellurium is a chemical element; it has symbol Te and atomic number 52. It is a brittle, mildly toxic, rare, silver-white metalloid. Tellurium is chemically related to selenium and sulfur, all three of which are chalcogens. It is occasionally fou ...

or one of its compounds are ingested. It is noticeable by the garlic smelling breath it gives those exposed, similar to the effect of

DMSO Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is an organosulfur compound with the formula . This colorless liquid is the sulfoxide most widely used commercially. It is an important polar aprotic solvent that dissolves both polar and nonpolar compounds and is ...

. Tellurium is known to be

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

References

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External links

Epichem
(Commercial supplier datasheet) {{tellurides Tellurides Organotellurium compounds Foul-smelling chemicals Substances discovered in the 1930s Tellurium(II) compounds Methyl compounds