Lithium tritelluride
Lithium tritelluride is an intercalary compound of lithium and tellurium with empirical formula. It is one of four 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]. 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.
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.