Skip to Main Content

Year 8 Science: Critical Elements: Indium

Indium (In)

Indium (In)

Indium is the 49th element in the periodic table and has a symbol of In and atomic number of 49. It has an atomic weight of 114.818 and a mass number of 115. Indium has forty-nine protons and sixty-six neutrons in its nucleus, and forty-nine electrons in five shells. It is located in group thirteen, period five and block p of the periodic table. Soft silvery element belonging to group 13 of the periodic table. The most common natural isotope is In-115, which has a half-life of 6*10^4 years. Five other radioisotopes exist. Discovered in 1863 by Reich and Richter.

[source]

Where does Indium come from?

The vast majority (~90%) of indium is isolated as a byproduct of zinc mining. The top producers of indium are China (40%), Korea (31%), Canada (9%) and Japan (9%).

[source]

Indium as an Endangered Element

Because the world’s indium supply is tied to zinc mining, its availability and price will depend on the demand for zinc.

Possible declines in zinc demand — already evident in the car manufacturing industry — along with the ever-increasing usage of smart phones and touch panels — are set to exacerbate the potential shortage of indium in the future.

One option is to try and recycle indium. But recovering it from used devices is expensive because of the tiny amounts involved.

[source]

Extraction of indium and recycling of indium, tin and zinc from discarded LCD screen

[source]

Indium and sustainability