Potassium telluride is an

inorganic compound An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds⁠that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemistry''. Inorgan ...

with a chemical formula K₂Te. It is formed from

potassium Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...

and

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 ...

, making it a telluride.Brigitte Eisenmann, Herbert Schäfer: ''K2Te3 : The First Binary Alkali-Metal Polytelluride with Te²⁻₃-Ions.'' In: ''Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English.'' 17, 1978, S. 684, . Potassium telluride is a white powder. Like rubidium telluride and caesium telluride, it can be used as an ultraviolet detector in space. Its crystal structure is similar to other tellurides, which have an anti-

fluorite Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. The Mohs scal ...

structure.

Production

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 ...

will react with melting

potassium cyanide Potassium cyanide is a compound with the formula KCN. It is a colorless salt, similar in appearance to sugar, that is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include ...

(KCN) producing potassium telluride. It can also be produced by direct combination of potassium and tellurium, usually in liquid ammonia solvent: :

\mathrm

Reactions

Adding potassium telluride to water and letting the filtrate stand in air leads to an oxidation reaction that generates potassium hydroxide (KOH) and elemental tellurium: :

\mathrm

References

# Sangester J. and Pelton AD; ''Journal of Phase Equilibria'', 1997, 18(4) p. 394. {{tellurium compounds Potassium compounds Tellurides Fluorite crystal structure