Template:Distinguish Template:About Template:Use American English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Good article Template:Infobox antimony
Antimony is a chemical element; it has symbol Sb (Template:Etymology) and atomic number 51. A lustrous grey metal or metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Template:Chem2). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient times and were powdered for use as medicine and cosmetics, often known by the Arabic name kohl.<ref>David Kimhi's Commentary on Isaiah 4:30 and I Chronicles 29:2; Hebrew: פוך/כְּחֻל, Aramaic: כּוּחְלִי/צדידא; Arabic: كحل, and which can also refer to antimony trisulfide. See also Z. Dori, Antimony and Henna (Heb. הפוך והכופר), Jerusalem 1983 (Hebrew).</ref> The earliest known description of this metalloid in the West was written in 1540 by Vannoccio Biringuccio.
China is the largest producer of antimony and its compounds, with most production coming from the Xikuangshan Mine in Hunan. The industrial methods for refining antimony from stibnite are roasting followed by reduction with carbon, or direct reduction of stibnite with iron.
The most common applications for metallic antimony are in alloys with lead and tin, which have improved properties for solders, bullets, and plain bearings. It improves the rigidity of lead-alloy plates in lead–acid batteries. Antimony trioxide is a prominent additive for halogen-containing flame retardants. Antimony is used as a dopant in semiconductor devices.
CharacteristicsEdit
PropertiesEdit
Antimony is a member of group 15 of the periodic table, one of the elements called pnictogens, and has an electronegativity of 2.05. In accordance with periodic trends, it is more electronegative than tin or bismuth, and less electronegative than tellurium or arsenic. Antimony is stable in air at room temperature but, if heated, it reacts with oxygen to produce antimony trioxide,Template:Chem2.<ref name=w758>Wiberg and Holleman, p. 758</ref>
Antimony is a silvery, lustrous gray metalloid with a Mohs scale hardness of 3, which is too soft to mark hard objects. Coins of antimony were issued in China's Guizhou in 1931; durability was poor, and minting was soon discontinued because of its softness and toxicity.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Antimony is resistant to attack by acids.
The only stable allotrope of antimony under standard conditions<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> is metallic, brittle, silver-white, and shiny. It crystallises in a trigonal cell, isomorphic with bismuth and the gray allotrope of arsenic, and is formed when molten antimony is cooled slowly. Amorphous black antimony is formed upon rapid cooling of antimony vapor, and is only stable as a thin film (thickness in nanometres); thicker samples spontaneously transform into the metallic form.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It oxidizes in air and may ignite spontaneously. At 100 °C, it gradually transforms into the stable form. The supposed yellow allotrope of antimony, generated only by oxidation of stibine (Template:Chem2) at −90 °C, is also impure and not a true allotrope;<ref name=allotropes/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> above this temperature and in ambient light, it transforms into the more stable black allotrope.<ref name="kirk" /><ref name="cww" /><ref>Template:Harvnb, [[[:Template:GBUrl]] pp. 50–51]</ref> A rare explosive form of antimony can be formed from the electrolysis of antimony trichloride, but it always contains appreciable chlorine and is not really an antimony allotrope.<ref name=allotropes>Template:RubberBible82nd</ref> When scratched with a sharp implement, an exothermic reaction occurs and white fumes are given off as metallic antimony forms; when rubbed with a pestle in a mortar, a strong detonation occurs.
Elemental antimony adopts a layered structure (space group RTemplate:Overlinem No. 166) whose layers consist of fused, ruffled, six-membered rings. The nearest and next-nearest neighbors form an irregular octahedral complex, with the three atoms in each double layer slightly closer than the three atoms in the next. This relatively close packing leads to a high density of 6.697 g/cm3, but the weak bonding between the layers leads to the low hardness and brittleness of antimony.<ref name=w758/>
IsotopesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Antimony has two stable isotopes: Template:Chem2 with a natural abundance of 57.36% and Template:Chem2 with a natural abundance of 42.64%. It also has 35 radioisotopes, of which the longest-lived is Template:Chem2 with a half-life of 2.75 years. In addition, 29 metastable states have been characterized. The most stable of these is Template:Chem2 with a half-life of 5.76 days. Isotopes that are lighter than the stable Template:Chem2 tend to decay by β+ decay, and those that are heavier tend to decay by β− decay, with some exceptions.<ref name="NUBASE">Template:NUBASE 2003</ref> Antimony is the lightest element to have an isotope with an alpha decay branch, excluding Template:Chem2 and other light nuclides with beta-delayed alpha emission.<ref name=NUBASE/>
OccurrenceEdit
The abundance of antimony in the Earth's crust is estimated at 0.2 parts per million,<ref name=g548>Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 548</ref> comparable to thallium at 0.5 ppm and silver at 0.07 ppm. It is the 63rd most abundant element in the crust. Even though this element is not abundant, it is found in more than 100 mineral species.<ref>Antimony minerals. mindat.org</ref> Antimony is sometimes found natively (e.g. on Antimony Peak), but more frequently it is found in the sulfide stibnite (Template:Chem2) which is the predominant ore mineral.<ref name=g548/>
CompoundsEdit
Template:See also Antimony compounds are often classified according to their oxidation state: Sb(III) and Sb(V). The +5 oxidation state is more common.<ref>Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 553</ref>
Oxides and hydroxidesEdit
Antimony trioxide is formed when antimony is burnt in air.<ref name="reger2009">Template:Cite book</ref> In the gas phase, the molecule of the compound is Template:Chem2, but it polymerizes upon condensing.<ref name=w758/> Antimony pentoxide (Template:Chem2) can be formed only by oxidation with concentrated nitric acid.<ref name="house">Template:Cite book</ref> Antimony also forms a mixed-valence oxide, antimony tetroxide (Template:Chem2), which features both Sb(III) and Sb(V).<ref name="house" /> Unlike oxides of phosphorus and arsenic, these oxides are amphoteric, do not form well-defined oxoacids, and react with acids to form antimony salts.
Antimonous acid Template:Chem2 is unknown, but the conjugate base sodium antimonite (Template:Chem2) forms upon fusing sodium oxide and Template:Chem2.<ref>Wiberg and Holleman, p. 763</ref> Transition metal antimonites are also known.<ref name="norman">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Antimonic acid exists only as the hydrate Template:Chem2, forming salts as the antimonate anion Template:Chem2. When a solution containing this anion is dehydrated, the precipitate contains mixed oxides.<ref name="norman" />Template:Rp
The most important antimony ore is stibnite (Template:Chem2). Other sulfide minerals include pyrargyrite (Template:Chem2), zinkenite, jamesonite, and boulangerite.<ref>Wiberg and Holleman, p. 757</ref> Antimony pentasulfide is non-stoichiometric, which features antimony in the +3 oxidation state and S–S bonds.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Several thioantimonides are known, such as Template:Chem2 and Template:Chem2.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
HalidesEdit
Antimony forms two series of halides: Template:Chem2 and Template:Chem2. The trihalides Template:Chem2, Template:Chem2, Template:Chem2, and Template:Chem2 are all molecular compounds having trigonal pyramidal molecular geometry. The trifluoride is prepared by the reaction of antimony trioxide with hydrofluoric acid:<ref>Wiberg and Holleman, pp. 761–762</ref>
It is Lewis acidic and readily accepts fluoride ions to form the complex anions Template:Chem2 and Template:Chem2. Molten antimony trifluoride is a weak electrical conductor. The trichloride is prepared by dissolving stibnite in hydrochloric acid:<ref name="Ullmann" />
Arsenic sulfides are not readily attacked by the hydrochloric acid, so this method offers a route to As-free Sb.
The pentahalides Template:Chem2 and Template:Chem2 have trigonal bipyramidal molecular geometry in the gas phase, but in the liquid phase, Template:Chem2 is polymeric, whereas Template:Chem2 is monomeric.<ref>Wiberg and Holleman, p. 761</ref> Antimony pentafluoride is a powerful Lewis acid used to make the superacid fluoroantimonic acid (Template:Chem2).
Oxyhalides are more common for antimony than for arsenic and phosphorus. Antimony trioxide dissolves in concentrated acid to form oxoantimonyl compounds such as SbOCl and Template:Chem2.<ref>Wiberg and Holleman, p. 764</ref>
Antimonides, hydrides, and organoantimony compoundsEdit
Compounds in this class generally are described as derivatives of Template:Chem2. Antimony forms antimonides with metals, such as indium antimonide (InSb) and silver antimonide (Template:Chem2).<ref>Wiberg and Holleman, p. 760</ref> The alkali metal and zinc antimonides, such as Template:Chem2 and Template:Chem2, are more reactive. Treating these antimonides with acid produces the highly unstable gas stibine, Template:Chem2:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Stibine can also be produced by treating Template:Chem2 salts with hydride reagents such as sodium borohydride. Stibine decomposes spontaneously at room temperature. Because stibine has a positive heat of formation, it is thermodynamically unstable and thus antimony does not react with hydrogen directly.<ref>Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 558</ref>
Organoantimony compounds are typically prepared by alkylation of antimony halides with Grignard reagents.<ref>Elschenbroich, C. (2006) "Organometallics". Wiley-VCH: Weinheim. Template:ISBN</ref> A large variety of compounds are known with both Sb(III) and Sb(V) centers, including mixed chloro-organic derivatives, anions, and cations. Examples include triphenylstibine (Template:Chem2) and pentaphenylantimony (Template:Chem2).<ref>Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 598</ref>
HistoryEdit
Antimony(III) sulfide, Template:Chem2, was recognized in predynastic Egypt as an eye cosmetic (kohl) as early as about 3100 BC, when the cosmetic palette was invented.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
An artifact, said to be part of a vase, made of antimony dating to about 3000 BC was found at Telloh, Chaldea (part of present-day Iraq), and a copper object plated with antimony dating between 2500 BC and 2200 BC has been found in Egypt.<ref name="kirk" /> Austen, at a lecture by Herbert Gladstone in 1892, commented that "we only know of antimony at the present day as a highly brittle and crystalline metal, which could hardly be fashioned into a useful vase, and therefore this remarkable 'find' (artifact mentioned above) must represent the lost art of rendering antimony malleable."<ref name="moorey">Template:Cite book</ref>
The British archaeologist Roger Moorey was unconvinced the artifact was indeed a vase, mentioning that Selimkhanov, after his analysis of the Tello object (published in 1975), "attempted to relate the metal to Transcaucasian natural antimony" (i.e. native metal) and that "the antimony objects from Transcaucasia are all small personal ornaments."<ref name="moorey" /> This weakens the evidence for a lost art "of rendering antimony malleable".<ref name="moorey" />
The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder described several ways of preparing antimony sulfide for medical purposes in his treatise Natural History, around 77 AD.<ref name="mellor">Template:Cite book</ref> Pliny the Elder also made a distinction between "male" and "female" forms of antimony; the male form is probably the sulfide, while the female form, which is superior, heavier, and less friable, has been suspected to be native metallic antimony.<ref>Pliny, Natural history, 33.33; W.H.S. Jones, the Loeb Classical Library translator, supplies a note suggesting the identifications.</ref>
The Greek naturalist Pedanius Dioscorides mentioned that antimony sulfide could be roasted by heating by a current of air. It is thought that this produced metallic antimony.<ref name="mellor" />
Antimony was frequently described in alchemical manuscripts, including the Summa Perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber, written around the 14th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A description of a procedure for isolating antimony is later given in the 1540 book De la pirotechnia by Vannoccio Biringuccio,<ref>Vannoccio Biringuccio, De la Pirotechnia (Venice (Italy): Curtio Navo e fratelli, 1540), Book 2, chapter 3: Del antimonio & sua miniera, Capitolo terzo (On antimony and its ore, third chapter), pp. 27–28. [Note: Only every second page of this book is numbered, so the relevant passage is to be found on the 74th and 75th pages of the text.] (in Italian)</ref> predating the more famous 1556 book by Agricola, De re metallica. In this context Agricola has been often incorrectly credited with the discovery of metallic antimony. The book Currus Triumphalis Antimonii (The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony), describing the preparation of metallic antimony, was published in Germany in 1604. It was purported to be written by a Benedictine monk, writing under the name Basilius Valentinus in the 15th century; if it were authentic, which it is not, it would predate Biringuccio.Template:Efn<ref name="cww">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The metal antimony was known to German chemist Andreas Libavius in 1615 who obtained it by adding iron to a molten mixture of antimony sulfide, salt and potassium tartrate. This procedure produced antimony with a crystalline or starred surface.<ref name="mellor" />
With the advent of challenges to phlogiston theory, it was recognized that antimony is an element forming sulfides, oxides, and other compounds, as do other metals.<ref name="mellor" />
The first discovery of naturally occurring pure antimony in the Earth's crust was described by the Swedish scientist and local mine district engineer Anton von Swab in 1783; the type-sample was collected from the Sala Silver Mine in the Bergslagen mining district of Sala, Västmanland, Sweden.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
EtymologyEdit
The medieval Latin form, from which the modern languages and late Byzantine Greek take their names for antimony, is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The origin of that is uncertain, and all suggestions have some difficulty either of form or interpretation. The popular etymology, from ἀντίμοναχός anti-monachos or French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, would mean "monk-killer", which is explained by the fact that many early alchemists were monks, and some antimony compounds were poisonous.<ref>Template:Cite book Fernando connects the proposed etymology to the story of "Basil Valentine", although antimonium is found two centuries before Valentine's time.</ref>
Another popular etymology is the hypothetical Greek word ἀντίμόνος antimonos, "against aloneness", explained as "not found as metal", or "not found unalloyed".<ref name="kirk">"Antimony" in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 5th ed. 2004. Template:ISBN</ref> However, ancient Greek would more naturally express the pure negative as α- ("not").<ref>Template:Cite OED, which considers the derivation a "popular etymology".</ref> Edmund Oscar von Lippmann conjectured a hypothetical Greek word ανθήμόνιον anthemonion, which would mean "floret", and cites several examples of related Greek words (but not that one) which describe chemical or biological efflorescence.<ref name=Lippmann>von Lippmann, Edmund Oscar (1919) Entstehung und Ausbreitung der Alchemie, teil 1. Berlin: Julius Springer (in German). pp. 642–5</ref>
The early uses of antimonium include the translations, in 1050–1100, by Constantine the African of Arabic medical treatises.<ref name=Lippmann/> Several authorities believe antimonium is a scribal corruption of some Arabic form; Meyerhof derives it from ithmid;<ref>Meyerhof as quoted in Template:Harvnb, asserts that ithmid or athmoud became corrupted in the medieval "traductions barbaro-latines". The OED asserts some Arabic form is the origin, and if ithmid is the root, posits athimodium, atimodium, atimonium as intermediates.</ref> other possibilities include athimar, the Arabic name of the metalloid, and a hypothetical as-stimmi, derived from or parallel to the Greek.<ref name=e28>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp
The standard chemical symbol for antimony (Sb) is credited to Jöns Jakob Berzelius, who derived the abbreviation from stibium.<ref>Jöns Jacob Berzelius, "Essay on the cause of chemical proportions, and on some circumstances relating to them: together with a short and easy method of expressing them," Annals of Philosophy, vol. 2, pages 443–454 (1813) and vol. 3, pages 51–62, 93–106, 244–255, 353–364 (1814). On [[[:Template:GBUrl]] p. 52], Berzelius lists the symbol for antimony as "St"; however, starting from [[[:Template:GBUrl]] p. 248], Berzelius consistently uses the symbol "Sb" instead.</ref>
The ancient words for antimony mostly have, as their chief meaning, kohl, the sulfide of antimony.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Egyptians called antimony mśdmt<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="sarton">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp or stm.<ref name="etym">Template:OEtymD</ref>
The Arabic word for the substance, as opposed to the cosmetic, can appear as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ithmid, athmoud, othmod, or uthmod. Littré suggests the first form, which is the earliest, derives from stimmida, an accusative for stimmi.<ref name=e28/><ref>Template:Multiref</ref> The Greek word στίμμι (stimmi) is used by Attic tragic poets of the 5th century BC, and is possibly a loan word from Arabic or from Egyptian stm.<ref name="etym"/>
ProductionEdit
ProcessEdit
The extraction of antimony from ores depends on the quality and composition of the ore. Most antimony is mined as the sulfide; lower-grade ores are concentrated by froth flotation, while higher-grade ores are heated to 500–600 °C, the temperature at which stibnite melts and separates from the gangue minerals. Antimony can be isolated from the crude antimony sulfide by reduction with scrap iron:<ref name=usgs2 />
The sulfide is converted to an oxide by roasting. The product is further purified by vaporizing the volatile antimony(III) oxide, which is recovered.<ref name="Ullmann" /> This sublimate is often used directly for the main applications, impurities being arsenic and sulfide.<ref name="Norm">Template:Harvnb, [[[:Template:GBUrl]] p. 45]</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Antimony is isolated from the oxide by a carbothermal reduction:<ref name=usgs2 /><ref name="Norm" />
The lower-grade ores are reduced in blast furnaces while the higher-grade ores are reduced in reverberatory furnaces.<ref name=usgs2 />
Top producers and production volumesEdit
In 2022, according to the US Geological Survey, China accounted for 54.5% of total antimony production, followed in second place by Russia with 18.2% and Tajikistan with 15.5%.<ref name=usgs>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
| Country | Tonnes | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Flag | 60,000 | 54.5 |
| Template:Flag | 20,000 | 18.2 |
| Template:Flag | 17,000 | 15.5 |
| Template:Flag | 4,000 | 3.6 |
| Template:Flag | 4,000 | 3.6 |
| Top 5 | 105,000 | 95.5 |
| Total world | 110,000 | 100.0 |
Chinese production of antimony is expected to decline in the future as mines and smelters are closed down by the government as part of pollution control. Especially due to an environmental protection law having gone into effect in January 2015<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and revised "Emission Standards of Pollutants for Stanum, Antimony, and Mercury" having gone into effect, hurdles for economic production are higher.
Reported production of antimony in China has fallen and is unlikely to increase in the coming years, according to the Roskill report. No significant antimony deposits in China have been developed for about ten years, and the remaining economic reserves are being rapidly depleted.<ref name="Roskill">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ReservesEdit
| Country | Reserves (tonnes) |
|---|---|
| Template:Flag | 350,000 |
| Template:Flag | 350,000 |
| Template:Flag | 310,000 |
| Template:Flag | 260,000 |
| Template:Flag | 140,000 |
| Template:Flag | 120,000 |
| Template:Flag | 100,000 |
| Template:Flag | 78,000 |
| Template:Flag | 60,000 |
| Template:Flag | 60,000 |
| Template:Flag | 50,000 |
| Total world | >1,800,000 |
Supply riskEdit
For antimony-importing regions, such as Europe and the U.S., antimony is considered to be a critical mineral for industrial manufacturing that is at risk of supply chain disruption. With global production coming mainly from China (74%), Tajikistan (8%), and Russia (4%), these sources are critical to supply.<ref name="EU Raw 2020" /><ref name="Nassar SciAdv 2020">Template:Cite journal</ref>
- European Union: Antimony is considered a critical raw material for defense, automotive, construction and textiles. The E.U. sources are 100% imported, coming mainly from Turkey (62%), Bolivia (20%) and Guatemala (7%).<ref name="EU Raw 2020">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- United Kingdom: The British Geological Survey's 2015 risk list ranks antimony second highest (after rare earth elements) on the relative supply risk index.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- United States: Antimony is a mineral commodity considered critical to the economic and national security.<ref name='"USGS 2022 News"'>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Nassar SciAdv 2020" /> In 2022, no antimony was mined in the U.S.<ref name='"USGS 2022'>Template:Cite book</ref>
ApplicationsEdit
Approximately 48% of antimony is consumed in flame retardants, 33% in lead–acid batteries, and 8% in plastics.<ref name=usgs2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Flame retardantsEdit
Antimony is mainly used as the trioxide for flame-proofing compounds, always in combination with halogenated flame retardants except in halogen-containing polymers. The flame retarding effect of antimony trioxide is produced by the formation of halogenated antimony compounds,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which react with hydrogen atoms, and probably also with oxygen atoms and OH radicals, thus inhibiting fire.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Markets for these flame-retardants include children's clothing, toys, aircraft, and automobile seat covers. They are also added to polyester resins in fiberglass composites for such items as light aircraft engine covers. The resin will burn in the presence of an externally generated flame, but will extinguish when the external flame is removed.<ref name="Ullmann">Grund, Sabina C.; Hanusch, Kunibert; Breunig, Hans J.; Wolf, Hans Uwe (2006) "Antimony and Antimony Compounds" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. {{#invoke:doi|main}}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
AlloysEdit
Antimony forms a highly useful alloy with lead, increasing its hardness and mechanical strength. When casting it increases fluidity of the melt and reduces shrinkage during cooling.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For most applications involving lead, varying amounts of antimony are used as alloying metal. In lead–acid batteries, this addition improves plate strength and charging characteristics.<ref name="Ullmann" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> For sailboats, lead keels are used to provide righting moment, ranging from 600 lbs to over 200 tons for the largest sailing superyachts; to improve hardness and tensile strength of the lead keel, antimony is mixed with lead between 2% and 5% by volume. Antimony is used in antifriction alloys (such as Babbitt metal),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> in bullets and lead shot, electrical cable sheathing, type metal (for example, for linotype printing machines<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>), solder (some "lead-free" solders contain 5% Sb),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> in pewter,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and in hardening alloys with low tin content in the manufacturing of organ pipes.
Other applicationsEdit
Three other applications consume nearly all the rest of the world's supply.<ref name=usgs2 /> One application is as a stabilizer and catalyst for the production of polyethylene terephthalate.<ref name=usgs2 /> Another is as a fining agent to remove microscopic bubbles in glass, mostly for TV screens<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Endash antimony ions interact with oxygen, suppressing the tendency of the latter to form bubbles.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The third application is pigments.<ref name=usgs2 />
In the 1990s antimony was increasingly being used in semiconductors as a dopant in n-type silicon wafers<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> for diodes, infrared detectors, and Hall-effect devices. In the 1950s, the emitters and collectors of n-p-n alloy junction transistors were doped with tiny beads of a lead-antimony alloy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Indium antimonide (InSb) is used as a material for mid-infrared detectors.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The material Template:Chem2 is used as for phase-change memory, a type of computer memory.
Biology and medicine have few uses for antimony. Treatments containing antimony, known as antimonials, are used as emetics.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Antimony compounds are used as antiprotozoan drugs. Potassium antimonyl tartrate, or tartar emetic, was once used as an anti-schistosomal drug from 1919 on. It was subsequently replaced by praziquantel.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Antimony and its compounds are used in several veterinary preparations, such as anthiomaline and lithium antimony thiomalate, as a skin conditioner in ruminants.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Antimony has a nourishing or conditioning effect on keratinized tissues in animals.
Antimony-based drugs, such as meglumine antimoniate, are also considered the drugs of choice for treatment of leishmaniasis. Early treatments used antimony(III) species (trivalent antimonials), but in 1922 Upendranath Brahmachari invented a much safer antimony(V) drug, and since then so-called pentavalent antimonials have been the standard first-line treatment. However, Leishmania strains in Bihar and neighboring regions have developed resistance to antimony.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Elemental antimony as an antimony pill was once used as a medicine. It could be reused by others after ingestion and elimination.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Antimony(III) sulfide is used in the heads of some safety matches.<ref name="Trends">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Antimony sulfides help to stabilize the friction coefficient in automotive brake pad materials.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Antimony is used in bullets, bullet tracers,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> paint, glass art, and as an opacifier in enamel. Antimony-124 is used together with beryllium in neutron sources; the gamma rays emitted by antimony-124 initiate the photodisintegration of beryllium.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The emitted neutrons have an average energy of 24 keV.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Natural antimony is used in startup neutron sources.
The powder derived from crushed antimony sulfide (kohl) has been used for millennia as an eye cosmetic. Historically it was applied to the eyes with a metal rod and with one's spittle, and was thought by the ancients to aid in curing eye infections.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The practice is still seen in Yemen and in other Muslim countries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
PrecautionsEdit
Template:Chembox Antimony and many of its compounds are toxic, and the effects of antimony poisoning are similar to arsenic poisoning. The toxicity of antimony is far lower than that of arsenic; this might be caused by the significant differences of uptake, metabolism and excretion between arsenic and antimony. The uptake of antimony(III) or antimony(V) in the gastrointestinal tract is at most 20%. Antimony(V) is not quantitatively reduced to antimony(III) in the cell (in fact antimony(III) is oxidised to antimony(V) instead<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>).
Since methylation of antimony does not occur, the excretion of antimony(V) in urine is the main way of elimination.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Like arsenic, the most serious effect of acute antimony poisoning is cardiotoxicity and the resulting myocarditis; however, it can also manifest as Adams–Stokes syndrome, which arsenic does not. Reported cases of intoxication by antimony equivalent to 90 mg antimony potassium tartrate dissolved from enamel has been reported to show only short term effects. An intoxication with 6 g of antimony potassium tartrate was reported to result in death after three days.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Inhalation of antimony dust is harmful and in certain cases may be fatal; in small doses, antimony causes headaches, dizziness, and depression. Larger doses such as prolonged skin contact may cause dermatitis, or damage the kidneys and the liver, causing violent and frequent vomiting, leading to death in a few days.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Antimony is incompatible with strong oxidizing agents, strong acids, halogen acids, chlorine, or fluorine. It should be kept away from heat.<ref>Antimony MSDSTemplate:Dead link. Baker</ref>
Antimony leaches from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into liquids.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> While levels observed for bottled water are below drinking water guidelines,<ref name=shotyk/> fruit juice concentrates (for which no guidelines are established) produced in the UK were found to contain up to 44.7 μg/L of antimony, well above the EU limits for tap water of 5 μg/L.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The guidelines are:
- World Health Organization: 20 μg/L<ref name=who/>
- Japan: 15 μg/L<ref>Wakayama, Hiroshi (2003) "Revision of Drinking Water Standards in Japan", Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (Japan); Table 2, p. 84</ref>
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Health Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Environment: 6 μg/L<ref name=canada>Screening assessment antimony-containing substances. Health Canada. July 2020. Template:ISBN</ref>
- EU and German Federal Ministry of Environment: 5 μg/L<ref name="shotyk">Template:Cite journal</ref>
The tolerable daily intake (TDI) proposed by WHO is 6 μg antimony per kilogram of body weight.<ref name=who>Template:Cite book</ref> The immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) value for antimony is 50 mg/m3.<ref>Template:PGCH</ref>
ToxicityEdit
Certain compounds of antimony appear to be toxic, particularly antimony trioxide and antimony potassium tartrate.<ref name="atsdr.cdc.gov">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Effects may be similar to arsenic poisoning.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Occupational exposure may cause respiratory irritation, pneumoconiosis, antimony spots on the skin, gastrointestinal symptoms, and cardiac arrhythmias. In addition, antimony trioxide is potentially carcinogenic to humans.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Adverse health effects have been observed in humans and animals following inhalation, oral, or dermal exposure to antimony and antimony compounds.<ref name="atsdr.cdc.gov" /> Antimony toxicity typically occurs either due to occupational exposure, during therapy or from accidental ingestion. It is unclear if antimony can enter the body through the skin.<ref name="atsdr.cdc.gov" /> The presence of low levels of antimony in saliva may also be associated with dental decay.<ref name="Davis_et_al_Sci_Rep">Template:Cite journal</ref>
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
Cited sourcesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Sister project Template:Sister project
- Public Health Statement for Antimony
- International Antimony Association vzw (i2a)
- Chemistry in its element podcast (MP3) from the Royal Society of Chemistry's Chemistry World: Antimony
- Antimony at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham)
- CDC – NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards – Antimony
- Antimony Mineral data and specimen images
Template:Periodic table (navbox) Template:Antimony compounds