Lithium tritelluride explained

Lithium tritelluride is an intercalary compound of lithium and tellurium with empirical formula . It is one of three known members of the Li-Te system, the others being the raw metals and lithium telluride .

LiTe₃ was first discovered in 1969 by researchers at the US Atomic Energy Commission.^[1] Research into the compound has been primarily driven by the possibility of using molten tellurium salts to cool a nuclear reactor.

Lithium tritelluride can be synthesized by heating a mixture of the appropriate stoichiometry. It is unstable below ; if left below that temperature, it will decompose, releasing tellurium vapor.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Structurally, lithium tritelluride is composed of parallel graphene-like planes of tellurium. Atoms in these planes are aligned to form "vertical" columns of tellurium; the lithium ions then form columns running through the center of each tellurium hexagon.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Foster. M. S.. Johnson. C. E.. Davis. K. A.. Peck. J.. Schablaske. R.. 1969. ANL-7575. USAEC. 141., as cited in .
2. Hitch . B.F. . Toth . L.M. . Brynestad . J. . The decomposition equilibrium of LiTe3 . Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry . January 1978 . 40 . 1 . 31–34 . 10.1016/0022-1902(78)80301-7.
3. Cunningham . P. T. . Johnson . S. A. . Cairns . E. J. . Phase Equilibria in Lithium-Chalcogen Systems . Journal of the Electrochemical Society . 1973 . 120 . 3 . 328 . 10.1149/1.2403448 .
4. Songster . J. . Pelton . A. D. . The li-te (lithium-tellurium) system . Journal of Phase Equilibria . June 1992 . 13 . 3 . 300–303 . 10.1007/BF02667559 . 97799347 .
5. Valentine . D. Y. . Cavin . O. B. . Yakel . H. L. . On the crystal structure of LiTe3 . Acta Crystallographica Section B Structural Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry . 15 May 1977 . 33 . 5 . 1389–1396 . 10.1107/S0567740877006141 . 98036149 . free. 1977AcCrB..33.1389V .