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 luster. It was discovered (1863) by German chemists Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Theodor Richter while they were examining zinc ore samples. The presence of a predominant indigo spectral line suggested the name. Indium is softer than lead and quite plastic. It can be scratched with a fingernail and can undergo almost limitless deformation. Like tin, the pure metal emits a high-pitched “cry” when bent. Indium is about as rare as silver. Earth’s crust contains on the average about 0.05 part per million indium by weight. The element does not occur uncombined or in independent minerals but occurs as a trace in many minerals, particularly those of zinc and lead, from which it is obtained as a by-product.

Indium has the unusual property when molten of clinging to (wetting) clean glass and other surfaces; this makes it valuable for producing hermetic seals between glass, metals, quartz, ceramics, and marble. Indium is used in coating aircraft engine bearings because it improves corrosion resistance and enables the surface to retain a more adherent oil film. It is an ingredient in some low-melting alloys used in sprinkler heads, fire-door links, and fusible plugs. The metal is extensively employed in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and for soldering various parts of germanium transistors and rectifiers. Indium also is used to measure the thermal neutron flux of nuclear reactors and to monitor neutrons for the protection of personnel and equipment. Natural indium is a mixture of two isotopes: indium-113 (4.28 percent) and indium-115 (95.72 percent).

Indium metal is unaffected by air at ordinary temperatures, but at a red heat it burns with a blue-violet flame to form the yellow oxide In₂O₃. This oxide is easily reduced to the metal, and on strong heating it loses oxygen to give the monoxide, In₂O, where indium is in the +1 oxidation state. Indium hydroxide dissolves in both acids and alkalies.

Indium is an amphoteric element; it dissolves in acids to give indium salts, and it also dissolves in concentrated alkalies to give indates. However, it is unaffected by potassium hydroxide or boiling water. When heated in the presence of the halogens or sulfur, direct combination takes place. Though a few authentic indium compounds (e.g., halides) have been prepared in which the element is in the +1 oxidation state, indium commonly displays the +3 state in its compounds. With the main Group 15 (Va) elements, indium forms compounds (indium nitride, indium phosphide, indium arsenide, indium antimonide) that have semiconductor properties. Nanostructured indium compounds have been developed, including indium nitride (InN) nanorods for high-speed field-effect transistors and light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which can be used in televisions and computer displays.

All anhydrous triply charged indium derivatives except indium trifluoride (InF₃) are covalent. There is a marked tendency for two of the outer electrons of the indium atom (the outer 5s² electrons) not to be used in bonding; this circumstance results in singly charged indium compounds.