text
stringlengths
0
3.86k
3 is prepared by the reaction of Sb
2O
3 with HF :
Sb
2O
3 + 6 HF → 2 SbF
3 + 3 H
2O
It is Lewis acidic and readily accepts fluoride ions to form the complex anions SbF −
4 and SbF2 −
5 . Molten SbF
3 is a weak electrical conductor . The trichloride SbCl
3 is prepared by dissolving Sb
2S
3 in hydrochloric acid :
Sb
2S
3 + 6 HCl → 2 SbCl
3 + 3 H
2S
The pentahalides SbF
5 and SbCl
5 have trigonal bipyramidal molecular geometry in the gas phase , but in the liquid phase , SbF
5 is polymeric , whereas SbCl
5 is monomeric . SbF
5 is a powerful Lewis acid used to make the superacid fluoroantimonic acid ( " H2SbF7 " ) .
Oxyhalides are more common for antimony than arsenic and phosphorus . Antimony trioxide dissolves in concentrated acid to form oxoantimonyl compounds such as SbOCl and ( SbO )
2SO
4 .
= = = Antimonides , hydrides , and organoantimony compounds = = =
Compounds in this class generally are described as derivatives of Sb3 − . Antimony forms antimonides with metals , such as indium antimonide ( InSb ) and silver antimonide ( Ag
3Sb ) . The alkali metal and zinc antimonides , such as Na3Sb and Zn3Sb2 , are more reactive . Treating these antimonides with acid produces the unstable gas stibine , SbH
3 :
Sb3 − + 3 H + → SbH
3
Stibine can also be produced by treating Sb3 + 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 .
Organoantimony compounds are typically prepared by alkylation of antimony halides with Grignard reagents . 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 Sb ( C6H5 ) 3 ( triphenylstibine ) , Sb2...
= = History = =
Antimony ( III ) sulfide , Sb2S3 , was recognized in predynastic Egypt as an eye cosmetic ( kohl ) as early as about 3100 BC , when the cosmetic palette was invented .
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 . Austen , at a lecture by Herbert Gladstone in 1892 commented that " w...
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 ornam...
The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder described several ways of preparing antimony sulfide for medical purposes in his treatise Natural History . 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 , h...
The Roman 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 .
The first description of a procedure for isolating antimony is in the book De la pirotechnia of 1540 by Vannoccio Biringuccio ; this predates 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 ...
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 .
With the advent of challenges to phlogiston theory it was recognized that antimony is an element forming sulfides , oxides , and other compounds , as is the case with other metals .
The first natural occurrence of 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 .
= = = Etymology = = =
The ancient words for antimony mostly have , as their chief meaning , kohl , the sulfide of antimony .
The Egyptians called antimony mśdmt ; in hieroglyphs , the vowels are uncertain , but there is an Arabic tradition that the word is ميسديميت mesdemet . The Greek word , στίμμι stimmi , is probably a loan word from Arabic or from Egyptian stm
and is used by Attic tragic poets of the 5th century BC ; later Greeks also used στἰβι stibi , as did Celsus and Pliny , writing in Latin , in the first century AD . Pliny also gives the names stimi [ sic ] , larbaris , alabaster , and the " very common " platyophthalmos , " wide @-@ eye " ( from the effect of the cos...
The use of Sb as the standard chemical symbol for antimony is due to Jöns Jakob Berzelius , who used this abbreviation of the name stibium . The medieval Latin form , from which the modern languages and late Byzantine Greek take their names for antimony , is antimonium . The origin of this is uncertain ; all suggestio...
Another popular etymology is the hypothetical Greek word ἀντίμόνος antimonos , " against aloneness " , explained as " not found as metal " , or " not found unalloyed " . Lippmann conjectured a hypothetical Greek word ανθήμόνιον anthemonion , which would mean " floret " , and cites several examples of related Greek wor...
The early uses of antimonium include the translations , in 1050 – 1100 , by Constantine the African of Arabic medical treatises . Several authorities believe antimonium is a scribal corruption of some Arabic form ; Meyerhof derives it from ithmid ; other possibilities include athimar , the Arabic name of the metalloid...
= = Production = =
= = = Top producers and production volumes = = =
The British Geological Survey ( BGS ) reported that in 2005 , China was the top producer of antimony with an approximately 84 % world share , followed at a distance by South Africa , Bolivia and Tajikistan . Xikuangshan Mine in Hunan province has the largest deposits in China with an estimated deposit of 2 @.@ 1 milli...
In 2010 , according to the US Geological Survey , China accounted for 88 @.@ 9 % of total antimony production with South Africa , Bolivia and Russia sharing the second place .
However , Roskill Consulting estimates for primary production show that in 2010 China held a 76 @.@ 75 % share of world supply with 120 @,@ 462 tonnes ( 90 @,@ 000 tonnes of reported and 30 @,@ 464 tonnes of un @-@ reported production ) , followed by Russia ( 4 @.@ 14 % share , 6 @,@ 500 tonnes of production ) , Myanm...
Roskill estimates that secondary production globally in 2010 was 39 @,@ 540 tonnes .
Antimony was ranked first in a Risk List published by the British Geological Survey in the second half of 2011 . The list provides an indication of the relative risk to the supply of chemical elements or element groups required to maintain the current British economy and lifestyle .
Also , antimony was identified as one of 12 critical raw materials for the EU in a report published in 2011 , primarily due to the lack of supply outside China .
Reported production of antimony in China fell in 2010 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 .
The world 's largest antimony producers , according to Roskill , are listed below :
= = = Reserves = = =
According to statistics from the USGS , current global reserves of antimony will be depleted in 13 years . However , the USGS expects more resources will be found .
= = = Production process = = =
The extraction of antimony from ores depends on the quality of the ore 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 is separated from ...
Sb
2S
3 + 3 Fe → 2 Sb + 3 FeS
The sulfide is converted to an oxide and advantage is often taken of the volatility of antimony ( III ) oxide , which is recovered from roasting . This material is often used directly for the main applications , impurities being arsenic and sulfide . Isolating antimony from its oxide is performed by a carbothermal red...
2 Sb
2O
3 + 3 C → 4 Sb + 3 CO
2
The lower @-@ grade ores are reduced in blast furnaces while the higher @-@ grade ores are reduced in reverberatory furnaces .
= = Applications = =
About 60 % of antimony is consumed in flame retardants , and 20 % is used in alloys for batteries , plain bearings and solders .
= = = Flame retardants = = =
Antimony is mainly used as its trioxide in making flame @-@ proofing compounds . It is nearly always used in combination with halogenated flame retardants , with the only exception being in halogen @-@ containing polymers . The formation of halogenated antimony compounds is the cause for the flame retarding effect of ...