Indium: the essentialsIndium is a very soft, silvery-white metal with a brilliant lustre. The pure metal gives a high-pitched "scream" when bent. It wets glass, as does gallium. It is useful for making low-melting alloys. An alloy of 24% indium and 76% gallium is liquid at room temperature. Canada produces the majority of of the world's supply of indium.
Indium: historical informationIndium was discovered by Ferdinand Reich and Theodore Richter, who later isolated the metal. It was found and spectroscopically identified as a minor component in zincores. Until 1924, a gram or so constituted the world's supply of this element in isolated form. In fact, it is probably about as abundant as silver. Indium: physical properties
Indium: orbital properties
IsolationIsolation: indium would not normally be made in the laboratory as it is commercially available. Indium is a byproduct of the formation of lead and zinc. Indium metal is isolated by the electrolysis of indium salts in water. Further processes are required to make very pure indium for electronics purposes. WebElements ShopWebElements now has a WebElements shop at which you can buy periodic table posters, mugs, T-shirts, games, fridge magnets, molecular models, and more.
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Melting point
Boiling point
Density of solid
Pauling electronegativity
First ionisation energy
Second ionisation energy
