Indium information, including Technical Data, Safety Data and its high purity properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure, ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included.
 Indium has found application in semi-conductor materials and other electronic applications. It is used to make low-melting alloys, such as an alloy of 24% indium - 76% Indium is liquid at room temperature. It is used in making bearing alloys, germanium transistors, rectifiers, and photoconductors. It can be plated onto metal and evaporated onto glass, forming a mirror as good as that made with silver but with more resistance to atmospheric corrosion. Indium is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.9999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. Indium is also used in various metal alloys (See AE Alloys).
Indium facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are
available for many specific states, forms and shapes on the product pages listed to the left. Elemental or metallic forms include pellets, rod, wire and granules for evaporation source material purposes. Nanoparticles and nanopowders provide ultra high surface area which nanotechnology research and recent experiments demonstrate function to create new and unique properties and benefits.
 Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Indium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.
Indium is a Block P, Group 13, Period 5 element. The number of electrons in each of Indium's shells is 2, 8, 18, 18, 3 and its electronic configuration is [Kr] 4d10 5s2 5p1. In its elemental form indium's CAS number is 7440-74-6. The indium atom has a radius of 162.6.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 193.pm. Indium is only slightly toxic.
All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, thin fillm deposition using sputtering targets and evaporation materials, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology applications. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Indium compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis.
 Indium |
 Indium |
 Indio |
 Índio |
 Indio |
 Indium |
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of indium and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.
| Isotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
| In-113 |
112.904061 |
4.3 |
| In-115 |
114.903878 |
95.7 |
The following table shows the abundance of Indium present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:
| |
Typical Human Body |
Universe |
| by Weight |
no data |
0.3 ppb |
| by Atom |
no data |
0.003 |
Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for indium metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin. Indium compounds have no biological role.
Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for indium (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it's ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table:
| 1st Ionization Energy |
558.30 kJ mol-1 |
| 2nd Ionization Energy |
1820.67 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd Ionization Energy |
2704.50 kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to indium's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is 8.37 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 1.78. The thermal conductivity of indium is 81.6 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for indium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.
| Heat of Fusion |
3.27 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Vaporization |
231.8 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Atomization |
243.72 kJ mol-1 |
Recent Research & Development for IndiumDiastereoselective indium-mediated allylation of N-tert-butanesulfinyl ketimines: easy access to asymmetric quaternary stereocenters bearing nitrogen atoms.
Sirvent JA, Foubelo F, Yus M.
Chem Commun (Camb). 2012 Jan 26. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22281839
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Focusing on Energy and Optoelectronic Applications: A Journey for Graphene and Graphene Oxide at Large Scale.
Wan X, Huang Y, Chen Y.
Acc Chem Res. 2012 Jan 26. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22280410
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
A Wheel-Shaped Indium-Telluride Nanocluster [In(18)Te(30)(dach)(6)](6-): Its Formation and Structure.
Wang YH, Luo W, Jiang JB, Bian GQ, Zhu QY, Dai J.
Inorg Chem. 2012 Jan 26. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22279965
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Distribution of Cell-Free and Cell-Associated HIV Surrogates in the Female Genital Tract After Simulated Vaginal Intercourse.
Louissaint NA, Fuchs EJ, Bakshi RP, Nimmagadda S, Du Y, Macura KJ, King KE, Wahl R, Goldsmith AJ, Caffo B, Cao YJ, Anderson J, Hendrix CW.
J Infect Dis. 2012 Jan 25. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22279121
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Visible to near-infrared light harvesting in Ag(2)S nanoparticles/ZnO nanowire array photoanodes.
Wu JJ, Chang RC, Chen DW, Wu CT.
Nanoscale. 2012 Jan 26. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22278401
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Enhancement of light extraction in GaN-based light-emitting diodes using rough beveled ZnO nanocone arrays.
Yin Z, Liu X, Wu Y, Hao X, Xu X.
Opt Express. 2012 Jan 16;20(2):1013-21. doi: 10.1364/OE.20.001013.
PMID:
22274448
[PubMed - in process]
MgO nano-facet embedded silver-based dielectric/metal/dielectric transparent electrode.
Kim S, Yu HK, Hong K, Kim K, Son JH, Lee I, Kim KB, Kim TY, Lee JL.
Opt Express. 2012 Jan 16;20(2):845-53. doi: 10.1364/OE.20.000845.
PMID:
22274430
[PubMed - in process]
Carrier dynamics in InN nanorod arrays.
Ahn H, Yu CC, Yu P, Tang J, Hong YL, Gwo S.
Opt Express. 2012 Jan 16;20(2):769-75. doi: 10.1364/OE.20.000769.
PMID:
22274422
[PubMed - in process]
Coherent and directional emission at 1.55 µm from PbSe colloidal quantum dot electroluminescent device on silicon.
Heo J, Jiang Z, Xu J, Bhattacharya P.
Opt Express. 2011 Dec 19;19(27):26394-8. doi: 10.1364/OE.19.026394.
PMID:
22274223
[PubMed - in process]
Transformation of Indium Nanoparticles to ß-Indium Sulfide: Digestive Ripening and Visible Light-Induced Photocatalytic Properties.
Cingarapu S, Ikenbbery MA, Hamal DB, Sorensen CM, Hohn K, Klabunde KJ.
Langmuir. 2012 Jan 24. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22272650
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Tailoring 3D-Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Anchored to Indium Tin Oxide for Natural Cellular Uptake and Intracellular Sensing.
Mendes PM, Rawson F, Jackson S, Yeung C.
Nano Lett. 2012 Jan 23. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22268573
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Vaginal distribution and retention of a multiparticulate drug delivery system, assessed by gamma scintigraphy and magnetic resonance imaging.
Mehta S, Verstraelen H, Peremans K, Villeirs G, Vermeire S, De Vos F, Mehuys E, Remon JP, Vervaet C.
Int J Pharm. 2012 Jan 13. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22265911
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Synthesis and characterization of InNbO(4) nanopowder for gas sensors.
Balamurugan C, Vijayakumar E, Subramania A.
Talanta. 2012 Jan 15;88:115-20. Epub 2011 Nov 26.
PMID:
22265476
[PubMed - in process]
Interfacial effects on the optical behavior of Ge:ITO and Ge:ZnO nanocomposite films.
Shih GH, Allen CG, Potter BG Jr.
Nanotechnology. 2012 Feb 24;23(7):075203. Epub 2012 Jan 20.
PMID:
22261039
[PubMed - in process]
Synthesis of Indium Borate and Its Application in Photodegradation of 4-Chlorophenol.
Yuan J, Wu Q, Zhang P, Yao J, He T, Cao Y.
Environ Sci Technol. 2012 Jan 19. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22260653
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Electrochromic Properties of a Metallo-Supramolecular Polymer Derived from Tetra(2-pyridyl-1,4-pyrazine) Ligands Integrated in Thin Multilayer Films.
da Silva CA, Vidotti M, Fiorito PA, Cordoba De Torresi SI, Torresi RM, Alves WA.
Langmuir. 2012 Jan 19. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22260213
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Bis-(µ-pyridine-2,3-dicarboxyl-ato)bis-[aqua-(3-carb-oxy-pyridine-2-carboxyl-ato)indium(III)] tetra-hydrate.
Eshtiagh-Hosseini H, Mirzaei M, Mousavinezhad A, Necas M, Mague JT.
Acta Crystallogr Sect E Struct Rep Online. 2012 Jan 1;68(Pt 1):m71-2. Epub 2011 Dec 21.
PMID:
22259367
[PubMed - in process]
Indium Tin Oxide devices for amperometric detection of vesicular release by single cells.
Meunier A, Fulcrand R, Darchen F, Guille Collignon M, Lemaître F, Amatore C.
Biophys Chem. 2011 Dec 24. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22257976
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
A transparent µECoG array for simultaneous recording and optogenetic stimulation.
Ledochowitsch P, Olivero E, Blanche T, Maharbiz MM.
Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2011 Aug;2011:2937-40.
PMID:
22254956
[PubMed - in process]
Flexible PET/ITO electrode array for implantable biomedical applications.
Ahani A, Saadati-Fard L, Sodagar AM, Boroumad FA.
Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2011 Aug;2011:2878-81.
PMID:
22254942
[PubMed - in process] |
