Uses and Toxicity of Cadmium telluride

Cadmium telluride(CdTe) is insoluble in water.CdTe has a high melting point of 1041℃ with evaporation starting at 1050℃. Cadmium telluride has a vapor pressure of zero at ambient temperatures. CdTe is more stable than its parent compounds cadmium and tellurium and most other Cd compounds, due to its high melting point and insolubility.

Crystal Structure

Cadmium telluride is a cubic structure.

Benefits

High absorption: Cadmium telluride is a direct-bandgap material with bandgap energy that can be tuned from 1.4 to 1.5 (eV), which is nearly optimal for converting sunlight into electricity using a single junction.

Low-cost manufacturing: Cadmium telluride solar cells use high throughput manufacturing methods to produce completed modules from input materials in a matter of hours.

Uses

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is a stable crystalline compound formed from cadmium and tellurium. It is mainly used as the semiconducting material in cadmium telluride photovoltaics and an infrared optical window. It is usually sandwiched with cadmium sulfide to form a p-n junction solar PV cell. Typically, CdTe PV cells use a n-i-p structure.

Toxicity

Toxicity studies show that CdTe is less toxic than elemental cadmium. CdTe has low acute inhalation, oral, and aquatic toxicity, and is negative in the Ames mutagenicity test. Based on notification of these results to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), CdTe is no longer classified as harmful if ingested nor harmful in contact with skin, and the toxicity classification to aquatic life has been reduced. Once properly and securely captured and encapsulated, CdTe used in manufacturing processes may be rendered harmless.