What is the element indium used for?
Most indium is used to make indium tin oxide (ITO), which is an important part of touch screens, flatscreen TVs and solar panels. This is because it conducts electricity, bonds strongly to glass and is transparent. Indium nitride, phosphide and antimonide are semiconductors used in transistors and microchips.
What are the properties of indium?
Indium is a soft, ductile, manleable, lustrous metallic metal. Its colour is silvery white and it has a face-centered tetragonal structure. It is liquid over a wide range of temperatures, like gallium that belongs to its same group.
Is indium toxic to humans?
Indium is relatively non-toxic and poses little immediate hazard to the health of emergency response personnel or the environment in an emergency situation. Potential Health Effects: Relatively non-toxic to humans by inhalation or ingestion.
What makes indium unique?
Indium metal remains unusually soft and malleable at very low temperatures, making it perfect for use in tools needed in extremely cold conditions, such as cryogenic pumps and high vacuum systems. Another unique quality is its stickiness, making it very useful as a solder.
What kind of element is indium?
metal
indium (In), chemical element, rare metal of main Group 13 (IIIa, or boron group) of the periodic table. Indium has a brilliant silvery-white lustre. It was discovered (1863) by German chemists Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Theodor Richter while they were examining zinc ore samples.
What type of solid is indium?
Indium is the softest metal that is not an alkali metal. It is a silvery-white metal that resembles tin in appearance. It is a post-transition metal that makes up 0.21 parts per million of the Earth’s crust….
| Indium | |
|---|---|
| Mohs hardness | 1.2 |
| Brinell hardness | 8.8–10.0 MPa |
| CAS Number | 7440-74-6 |
| History |
What type of metal is indium?
indium (In), chemical element, rare metal of main Group 13 (IIIa, or boron group) of the periodic table. Indium has a brilliant silvery-white lustre. It was discovered (1863) by German chemists Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Theodor Richter while they were examining zinc ore samples.
Is indium flammable?
FIRE HAZARDS * Indium Metal does not burn. * POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE. * Use a dry chemical extinguisher. * Indium powder or dust is flammable and may ignite when exposed to heat or flame.
What element reacts with indium?
INDIUM is a non-combustible solid in bulk form but is flammable in the form of a dust. Reacts with strong oxidizing agents. Reacts explosively with dinitrogen tetraoxide dissolved in acetonitrile. Reacts violently with mercury(II)bromide at 350°C.
What is indium atomic number?
49Indium / Atomic number
Why is indium endangered?
Supply is dependent upon the zinc mining industry of which indium is a small byproduct. Zinc itself is a critcal and endangered element. Because of its dependence on zinc mining, it is difficult to rapidly increase the supply of indium.
How soft is indium?
Indium is a silvery-white, highly ductile post-transition metal with a bright luster. It is so soft (Mohs hardness 1.2) that like sodium, it can be cut with a knife.
Does the element indium have an odor or a smell?
Odor: Odorless. Odor Threshold: Not determined. pH: N/A. Melting Point: 156.6 o C. Boiling Point: 2080 o C. Flash Point: N/A. Evaporation Rate: N/A
Where does the element indium come from?
It is commercially produced as a by-product of zinc refining. Indium was discovered in 1863 by Ferdinand Reich at the Freiberg School of Mines in Germany. Reich was investigating a sample of the mineral zinc blende (now known as sphalerite, ZnS) which he believed might contain the recently discovered element thallium.
How much does the element indium cost?
Cost. The present cost of indium is about $1 to $5/g, depending on quantity and purity. Properties. It is available in ultra pure form. Indium is a very soft, silvery-white metal with a brilliant luster. The pure metal gives a high-pitched “cry” when bent. It wets glass, as does gallium. Uses
What is indium used for in everyday life?
Indium oxide and Indium tin oxide are used as transparent conductive coatings.