INTRODUCTION
Indium is a soft, malleable, silvery white metallic element.It is the 63rd most abundant elements on the Earth’s crust.It was named for the prominent indigo line in its spectrum.
It never occurs as a free metal and is usually found in certain iron, zinc, tungsten, and tin ores.Some of its compounds have unique semiconductor properties.
BASIC INFORMATIONS
- Atomic Number
- 49
- Atomic Mass
- 114.818
- Atomic radius
- 0.15
- Ionization energy
- 558
- Electronic config
- 2,8,18,18,3
- Principal Valency
- +3
- Density g/cm³
- 7.31
- Melting point °C
- 156.5985
- Boiling point °C
- 2072
- Type of Element
- Metal
- Electronegativity
- 1.7
- Element Category
- Boron Family
- Appearance
- Silvery white solid
- Block
- p-block
- Period
- 5
- Group
- 13
- No of Isotopes
- 39
- Occurrence
- combine form
- Abundance in ppm
- 0.24
- Year of Discovery
- 1863
EXTRACTION
It is recovered from the flue dust in roasting Zinc sulphide and Lead sulphide ores
OXIDATION STATES
+3,+2,+1 (Amphoteric)
MAJOR SOURCE
Zinc, Tungsten, Tin, and Iron ores.
EXAMPLES OF COMPOUND PRESENT
InSb, InAs
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
* Indium is used as an alloying agent with nonferrous metals, in bearing alloys, and in nuclear-reactor control rods.
* It is used in low melting point solder; mostly to solder semiconductor chips and other low melting alloys.
* It is used to dope crystals to make p-n-p transistors, and in thermistors.
