Indium

MATERIAL OVERVIEW

Characteristics: Ductile, shiny, silver-white metal, softer than lead. Soluble in acids. Insoluble in alkalies. Corrosion-resistant at room temperatures, but oxidizes readily at higher temperatures. Nontoxic.

Indium (In) was discovered in 1863, by Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Theodor Richter while spectro-graphically analyzing a zinc ore sample where they saw the presence of a blue spectral line rather than the anticipated green thallium line. Realizing they had discovered a new element they named the new metal Indium after the blue (Indigo) spectral line.

Indium is a post transition element with the atomic number 49 and displays intermediate chemical properties between gallium and thallium. This rare material is a silvery element with a bright sheen, soft and malleable with a relatively low melting temperature below 160 C, making it especially useful in the manufacture of alloys, solders and in fusing material. Today most of the world's indium is produced in Canada and China.

At ESPI Metals we produce a variety of finished indium products. We can supply ingots in sizes and weights based upon our customer's specifications. We produce indium shot from ingot. We roll sheet and foil and extrude rod and wire. We also manufacture preforms to our customer's requirements.

Starting from refined indium ingot we roll indium to a variety of widths and thicknesses. Rolled material starts at 0.001"/0.0254mm and can be as thick as 1" or more if required. The maximum width of rolled material is six to twelve inches depending on thickness. Wider material is possible, however call or email your requirement.

Extruded wire and rod starts at 0.010/0.25mm. Wire and rod diameters are available in 0.001"/0.025mm diameter increments.

We also produce a variety of indium alloys. Indium alloys can be found in our online catalog page Indium/Specialty Alloys.

For more information about Indium, visit the Technical Data page.

In addition to the standard products listed in our online catalog, custom shapes and sizes are available upon request. If you have a custom requirement email us at sales@espimetals.com or use our custom quote request tool to tell us exactly what you require.