Atomic Number: 50 Period Number: 5 Group Number: 14
Tin & compounds
Tin (Sn) is a silvery-white or grey post-transition metal, used extensively as a component of bronze for over 5,000 years. In modern times, tin also serves as a key component in solders, optoelectronic materials, corrosion-resistant plating, packaging, medicine, glass manufacture, and more.
Applications of Tin and its Compounds
Over half of all tin produced globally goes into tin/lead alloys used as solders. With the reduction of lead out of concerns of toxicity, tin has become a higher proportion of these alloys, which are used to join pipes and electrical circuits. Current research is focusing heavily on ways to eliminate unique problems in these low-lead or lead-free solders, such as tin whiskers and tin pest.
- Optoelectronics. Tin oxide in particular is of high value in optoelectronics. Like indium oxide, tin oxide it both transparent and electrically conductive. These materials are thus used frequently in the production of liquid crystal displays and related technologies.
- Corrosion-resistant plating. A significant portion of metallic tin and tin alloys go to plating steel, zinc, and other metals for corrosion-resistance. Tin plating is also applied to some cookware, to prevent the leeching of copper or other potentially toxic materials into food.
- Packaging. Classic ‘tin cans’ make significant use of tin, though these cans are more accurate steel plated with tin.
- Glassmaking. One of the classic methods of producing flat, smooth glass relied upon a layer of melted tin, upon which the liquid glass floats.
Available from AHP Materials
AHP Materials focuses on high-purity elements and high-purity compounds. Our standard catalogue includes these tin products at purities ranging from 99.999% to 99.99999% :
- Tin Metal, 99.999%, 99.9999%, 99.99999%
- Tin Sulfide, 99.999%
- Tin Iodide, 99.999%
- Tin Bromide, 99.999%
- Tin Selenide, 99.999%
To find out more about available products, or to inquire about custom orders of products not in our catalogue, contact AHP today.
Tin Resources:
Wikipedia - Basics on Tin
Chemicool - Cool way to learn about Tin
WebElements - The basic elements of Tin
Jefferson Lab - Learning about Tin
