# Talk:Indium

Article changed over to new Wikipedia:WikiProject Elements format by maveric149. Elementbox converted 14:50, 5 July 2005 by Femto (previous revision was that of 02:10, 23 May 2005).


### Information Sources
Some of the text in this entry was rewritten from Los Alamos National Laboratory - Indium. 
Additional text was taken directly from USGS Indium Statistics and Information, from the Elements database 20001107 (via dict.org), Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (via dict.org) and WordNet (r) 1.7 (via dict.org). 
Data for the table was obtained from the sources listed on the main page and Wikipedia:WikiProject Elements but was reformatted and converted into SI units.

On the  "Los Alamos National Laboratory" site it says:
"The present cost of indium is about $1 to $5/g, depending on quantity and purity. "
This is far more expensive than it's said here.

According to my 2003-2004 Alfa Aesar (scientific supply) catalog, In prices range anywhere from US $1.5/g for 99.99% pure shot to $60 for a .23 g piece of very thin foil.  I imagine industrial purchasers who would buy in large quantities and might not need super-high purity might be able to get it for less than $1/g.
Ah, here is an authoritative source: US Geological Survey It may be the source for the 2000 $188/kg number.  Cost in 2003 was $170/kg and the estimated number for 2004 was $600/kg.  It's not clear why the big jump from 2003 to 2004.
The "big jump" is probably due to increased demand from LCD manufacturers, who use indium-tin oxide as a transparent electrode.  This is now one of the largest markets for indium.
This is true. The price for 99.99% pure indium jumped to over $1000/kg around 2005 due to the popularity of LCD screens, but has settled back to between $500 and $600 (http://www.metal-pages.com/metals/indium/, Feb. 2011). Of course, when you buy indium by the gram from a company that doesn't actually make it (Alfa Aesar), you will certainly pay more. Indium foil is a value added product and will cost significantly more than indium ingot because of such things as added processing, thickness tolerance, and preservation considerations (e.g. specialized packaging to prevent oxidation and contamination). 

I would suggest that the value in the article is correct. Eric 18:00, 19 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Recent prices of $700 to $1000/kg are reported on the Chinese metal industry news site metalfirst.com.    In addition, the element collector's website emovendo.net has .9999 Indium available for just over $1/g as of 15-Feb-2006.

Indium's "cry", as it is commonly called, sounds more like a crunching sound.
Teck Cominco is now called Teck Metals.
An interesting property of indium is that it cold welds. Clean the oxide off two strips of indium with a bit of dilute HCl and press them together. They will instantly bond together; when pulled apart the bond will hold and the indium will tear next to the bond.

Reich, F.; Richter, Th. (1863). "Ueber das Indium". Journal für Praktische Chemie. 90: 172. doi:10.1002/prac.18630900122.
Reich, F.; Richter, Th. (1863). "Indium". Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie. 2: 371. doi:10.1007/BF01430258.
. doi:10.1080/14786446408643651. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
Reich, F.; Richter, Th. (1864). "Ueber das Indium". Journal für Praktische Chemie. 92: 480. doi:10.1002/prac.18640920180.
Reich; Richter; Winkler, Cl.; Weselsky (1865). "Indium". Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie. 4: 102. doi:10.1007/BF01347336.
. doi:10.1080/14786446508643936. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
. doi:10.1080/14786446508643977. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
Winkler, Clemens (1865). "Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Indiums". Journal für Praktische Chemie. 94: 1. doi:10.1002/prac.18650940101.
Hoppe-Seyler, F. (1866). "Indium im Wolframerz". Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie. 5: 401. doi:10.1007/BF01302548.
Ludwig, H. (1866). "Ein vereinfachtes Verfahren, das Indium aus der Freiberger Zinkblende zu gewinnen". Archiv der Pharmazie. 178: 119. doi:10.1002/ardp.18661780132.
Meyer, R. E. (1868). "Ueber einige Reactionen der Indiumsalze". Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie. 7: 252. doi:10.1007/BF01334845.
Boisbaudran, Lecoq; Ullgren, C.; Gibbs, W. (1868). "Zur quantitativen Bestimmung des Kupfers". Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie. 7: 253. doi:10.1007/BF01334846.
Meyer, Richard E. (1869). "Zur Kenntniss des Indiums". Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie. 150 (2): 137. doi:10.1002/jlac.18691500202.
Bayer, K. J. (1871). "Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Indiums". Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie. 158 (3): 372. doi:10.1002/jlac.18711580313.
Roessler, C. (1873). "Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Indiums". Journal für Praktische Chemie. 7: 14. doi:10.1002/prac.18730070102.
Clayden, Arthur W.; Heycock, Charles T. (1876). "XLVII.The spectra of indium". Philosophical Magazine Series 5. 2 (12): 387. doi:10.1080/14786447608639122.
Clayden, W.; Heywon, Ch. T. (1877). "Ueber das Spectrum des Indiums". Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie. 16: 473. doi:10.1007/BF01356180.
Maskelyne, Nevil Story (1877). "Indium in British Blendes". Nature. 17 (418): 5. doi:10.1038/017005b0.
Erhard, Theodor (1881). "Ueber einige electrische Eigenschaften des Indiums". Annalen der Physik. 250 (11): 504. doi:10.1002/andp.18812501108.
Bayer, K. J. (1872). "Zur quantitativen Bestimmung des Indiums". Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie. 11: 77. doi:10.1007/BF01588376.
Kayser, H.; Runge, C. (1893). "Ueber die Spectren von Aluminium, Indium und Thallium". Annalen der Physik. 284: 126. doi:10.1002/andp.18922840112.

The redirect Indiom has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2023 September 1 § Indiom until a consensus is reached.  123957a (talk) 12:42, 1 September 2023 (UTC)

I was trying to find the main industrial applications of indium and quickly got bogged down. There are several reliable-looking sources that claim different "main" uses: this World Bank report says 97% is used in solar cells, while the USGS says most is used in flat-screen TVs. Since they obviously can't both be right and I see no reason to trust one over the other, I would simply call both solar cells and flat screen TVs the major applications, with nuclear power and semiconductors as minor applications and the rest as niche applications. Tserton (talk) 08:50, 19 May 2025 (UTC)

It is a constant struggle to get on top of "main uses".  My favorite source is usually Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry.  Its most recent volume on indium was published in 2012, quotes use/economic information from 1985.  At that time (1985), only 80 tons were refined per year and the main apps were for low melting alloys, bearings, and dental alloys, consuming nearly 28 of the 80 tons.--Smokefoot (talk) 19:32, 20 May 2025 (UTC)