TIN (Sn) • Element 50 • Physical Properties/Chemical Properties • Description • Uses/Function • Isotopes • Thermochemistry • Reactions • Electron Configuration and Bonding

Introduction

Atomic Number: 50
Group: 14 or IV A
Atomic Weight: 118.71
Period: 5
CAS Number: 7440-31-5

Classification

Description • Uses/Function

Known to the ancients. Tin is found chiefly in cassiterite (SnO2). Most of the world’s supply comes from Malaysia, Bolivia, China, Indonesia,Russia, Zaire, Thailand, and Nigeria. The U.S. produces almost none, although occurrences have been found in Alaska and Colorado. Tin is obtainedby reducing the ore with coal in a reverberatory furnace. Ordinary tin is composed of ten stable isotopes; thirty five unstable isotopes and isomers arealso known. Ordinary tin is a silver-white metal, is malleable, somewhat ductile, and has a highly crystalline structure. Due to the breaking of thesecrystals, a “tin cry” is heard when a bar is bent. The element has two allotropic forms at normal pressure. On warming, gray, or alpha tin, with a cubicstructure, changes at 13.2°C into white, or beta tin, the ordinary form of the metal. White tin has a tetragonal structure. When tin is cooled below 13.2°C,it changes slowly from white to gray. This change is affected by impurities such as aluminum and zinc, and can be prevented by small additions ofantimony or bismuth. This change from the alpha to beta form is called the tin pest. There are few if any uses for gray tin. Tin takes a high polish and is usedto coat other metals to prevent corrosion or other chemical action. Such tin plate over steel is used in the so-called tin can for preserving food. Alloysof tin are very important. Soft solder, type metal, fusible metal, pewter, bronze, bell metal, Babbitt metal, White metal, die casting alloy, and phosphorbronze are some of the important alloys using tin. Tin resists distilled sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. Oxygenin solution accelerates the attack. When heated in air, tin forms SnO2, which is feebly acid, forming stannate salts with basic oxides. The most importantsalt is the chloride (SnCl2 · H2O), which is used as a reducing agent and as a mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produceelectrically conductive coatings. These have been used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Most window glass is now made by floatingmolten glass on molten tin (float glass) to produce a flat surface (Pilkington process). Of recent interest is a crystalline tin-niobium alloy that issuperconductive at very low temperatures. This promises to be important in the construction of superconductive magnets that generate enormous fieldstrengths but use practically no power. Such magnets, made of tin-niobium wire, weigh but a few pounds and produce magnetic fields that, when startedwith a small battery, are comparable to that of a 100 ton electromagnet operated continuously with a large power supply. The small amount of tin foundin canned foods is quite harmless. The agreed limit of tin content in U.S. foods is 300 mg/kg. The trialkyl and triaryl tin compounds are used as biocidesand must be handled carefully. Over the past 25 years the price of commercial tin has varied from 50¢/lb ($1.10/kg) to its present price of about $4.30/lb ($9.50/kg) as of January 1996. Tin with a purity of 99.9999% is available at a price of about $4/g. 1

• "The major current use for tin is as a protective coating for steel, especially for cans used as food containers" 2
• "Tin is most commonly seen as a coating for iron in what we rather incorrectly call "tin" cans and roofing. When clean iron is plunged into melted tin, the tin sticks to or "wets" the iron, so that the iron, when withdrawn, is found to have a thin coating of tin. This, if thick enough, protects the iron from corrosion; and since tin is not acted on by fruit and vegetable juices, tinned iron (tin plate) makes a satisfactory container for many foods. Electroplating is cheaper than this hot-dip process.

Solder, babbitt metal, and most bronzes contain tin as one of their constituents. Pure tin, under the name black tin, is used for the pipes of soda-water fountains because it is not affected by the solution of carbon dioxide. Because it is not readily acted upon tin is also used in separators and pasteurizers for milk, and in tubes for toilet preparations. Tin foil is made by rolling the metal into thin sheets. Aluminum foil has largely replaced tin foil.

Tin compounds are sometimes used in dyeing, especially for silks; they brighten the colors and make the goods seem richer and heavier." 3

Physical Properties

Form:4 gray
Melting Point:4* 13.2 °C = 286.35 K = 55.76 °F
Boiling Point:4* 2602 °C = 2875.15 K = 4715.6 °F
Sublimation Point:4
Triple Point:4
Critical Point:4
Form:4 white
Melting Point:4* 231.93 °C = 505.08 K = 449.474 °F
Boiling Point:4* 2602 °C = 2875.15 K = 4715.6 °F
Sublimation Point:4
Triple Point:4
Critical Point:4
Density:5 5.769 (gray)/7.265 (white) g/cm3

* - at 1 atm

Electron Configuration

Electron Configuration: [Kr] 5s2 4d10 5p2
Block: p
Highest Occupied Energy Level: 5
Valence Electrons: 4

Quantum Numbers:

n = 5
ℓ = 1
mℓ = 0
ms = +½

Bonding

Electronegativity (Pauling scale):6 1.96
Electropositivity (Pauling scale): 2.04
Electron Affinity:7 1.112067 eV
Oxidation States: +4,2
Work Function:8 4.35 eV = 6.9687E-19 J

Ionization Potential	eV 9	kJ/mol
1	7.3439	708.6

Ionization Potential	eV 9	kJ/mol
2	14.63225	1411.8
3	30.5026	2943.1

Ionization Potential	eV 9	kJ/mol
4	40.73502	3930.3
5	72.28	6974.0

Thermochemistry

Specific Heat: 0.228 J/g°C 10 = 27.066 J/mol°C = 0.054 cal/g°C = 6.469 cal/mol°C
Thermal Conductivity: 66.6 (W/m)/K, 27°C 11
Heat of Fusion: 7.029 kJ/mol 12 = 59.2 J/g
Heat of Vaporization: 295.8 kJ/mol 13 = 2491.8 J/g

State of Matter Enthalpy of Formation (ΔHf°)14 Entropy (S°)14 Gibbs Free Energy (ΔGf°)14

(kcal/mol) (kJ/mol) (cal/K) (J/K) (kcal/mol) (kJ/mol)

(s white) 0 0 12.32 51.54688 0 0

(s gray) -0.50 -2.092 10.55 44.1412 0.03 0.12552

(g) 72.2 302.0848 40.243 168.376712 63.9 267.3576

Isotopes

Nuclide Mass 15 Half-Life 15 Nuclear Spin 15 Binding Energy

100Sn 99.93904(76) 1.1(4) s [0.94(+54-27) s] 0+ 824.83 MeV
101Sn 100.93606(32)# 3(1) s 5/2+# 841.29 MeV
102Sn 101.93030(14) 4.5(7) s 0+ 849.36 MeV
103Sn 102.92810(32)# 7.0(6) s 5/2+# 866.75 MeV
104Sn 103.92314(11) 20.8(5) s 0+ 874.82 MeV
105Sn 104.92135(9) 34(1) s (5/2+) 882.89 MeV
106Sn 105.91688(5) 115(5) s 0+ 900.28 MeV
107Sn 106.91564(9) 2.90(5) min (5/2+) 908.35 MeV
108Sn 107.911925(21) 10.30(8) min 0+ 916.42 MeV
109Sn 108.911283(11) 18.0(2) min 5/2(+) 924.49 MeV
110Sn 109.907843(15) 4.11(10) h 0+ 941.88 MeV
111Sn 110.907734(7) 35.3(6) min 7/2+ 949.95 MeV
112Sn 111.904818(5) STABLE 0+ 958.02 MeV
113Sn 112.905171(4) 115.09(3) d 1/2+ 966.09 MeV
114Sn 113.902779(3) STABLE 0+ 974.16 MeV
115Sn 114.903342(3) STABLE 1/2+ 982.23 MeV
116Sn 115.901741(3) STABLE 0+ 990.30 MeV
117Sn 116.902952(3) STABLE 1/2+ 998.37 MeV
118Sn 117.901603(3) STABLE 0+ 1,006.45 MeV
119Sn 118.903308(3) STABLE 1/2+ 1,014.52 MeV
120Sn 119.9021947(27) STABLE 0+ 1,022.59 MeV
121Sn 120.9042355(27) 27.03(4) h 3/2+ 1,030.66 MeV
122Sn 121.9034390(29) STABLE 0+ 1,038.73 MeV
123Sn 122.9057208(29) 129.2(4) d 11/2- 1,046.80 MeV
124Sn 123.9052739(15) STABLE 0+ 1,054.87 MeV
125Sn 124.9077841(16) 9.64(3) d 11/2- 1,062.95 MeV
126Sn 125.907653(11) 2.30(14)E+5 a 0+ 1,071.02 MeV
127Sn 126.910360(26) 2.10(4) h (11/2-) 1,069.77 MeV
128Sn 127.910537(29) 59.07(14) min 0+ 1,077.84 MeV
129Sn 128.91348(3) 2.23(4) min (3/2+)# 1,085.92 MeV
130Sn 129.913967(11) 3.72(7) min 0+ 1,093.99 MeV
131Sn 130.917000(23) 56.0(5) s (3/2+) 1,102.06 MeV
132Sn 131.917816(15) 39.7(8) s 0+ 1,110.13 MeV
133Sn 132.92383(4) 1.45(3) s (7/2-)# 1,108.89 MeV
134Sn 133.92829(11) 1.050(11) s 0+ 1,116.96 MeV
135Sn 134.93473(43)# 530(20) ms (7/2-) 1,115.71 MeV
136Sn 135.93934(54)# 0.25(3) s 0+ 1,123.78 MeV
137Sn 136.94599(64)# 190(60) ms 5/2-# 1,122.54 MeV
99Sn 98.94933(64)# 5# ms 9/2+# 807.45 MeV
Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from systematic trends. Spins with weak assignment arguments are enclosed in parentheses. 15

Reactions

2 SbCl3 (aq) + 3 Sn (s) → 2 Sb (s) + 3 SnCl2 (aq) 16
3 Sn (s) + 16 HNO3 (aq) → 3 Sn(NO3)4 (aq) + 4 NO (g) + 8 H2O (ℓ) 17

Abundance

Earth - Source Compounds: oxides 18
Earth - Seawater: 0.000004 mg/L 19
Earth - Crust: 2.3 mg/kg = 0.00023% 19
Earth - Total: 390 ppb 20
Mercury - Total: 64 ppb 20
Venus - Total: 430 ppb 20
Chondrites - Total: 0.56 (relative to 106 atoms of Si) 21
Human Body - Total: 0.00002% 22

Compounds

Prices

Safety Information

Material Safety Data Sheet - ACI Alloys, Inc.

For More Information

External Links:

Magazines:
(1) Ehrenberg, Rachel. The Element Tin Flout's Carbon's Chemistry Rules. Science News, October 24, 2009, pp 13.

Sources

(1) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:32.
(2) - Zumdahl, Steven S. Chemistry, 4th ed.; Houghton Mifflin: Boston, 1997; p 890.
(3) - Brownlee, Raymond B., Fuller, Robert W., and Whitsit, Jesse E. Elements of Chemistry; Allyn and Bacon: Boston, Massachusetts, 1959; p 557.
(4) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:132.
(5) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 84th ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:39-4:96.
(6) - Dean, John A. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 11th ed.; McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, NY, 1973; p 4:8-4:149.
(7) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 84th ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 10:147-10:148.
(8) - Speight, James. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 16th ed.; McGraw-Hill Professional: Boston, MA, 2004; p 1:132.
(9) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 10:178 - 10:180.
(10) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:133.
(11) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; pp 6:193, 12:219-220.
(12) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; pp 6:123-6:137.
(13) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; pp 6:107-6:122.
(14) - Dean, John A. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 12th ed.; McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, NY, 1979; p 9:4-9:94.
(15) - Atomic Mass Data Center. http://amdc.in2p3.fr/web/nubase_en.html (accessed July 14, 2009).
(16) - Halka, Monica and Nordstrom, Brian. Metals & Metalloids; Infobase Publishing: New York, NY, 2011; pg. 97.
(17) - Halka, Monica and Nordstrom, Brian. Metals & Metalloids; Infobase Publishing: New York, NY, 2011; pg. 49.
(18) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 965.
(19) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 14:17.
(20) - Morgan, John W. and Anders, Edward, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 6973-6977 (1980)
(21) - Brownlow, Arthur. Geochemistry; Prentice-Hall, Inc.: Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1979, pp 15-16.
(22) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 7:17.

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State of Matter	Enthalpy of Formation (ΔHf°)14		Entropy (S°)14		Gibbs Free Energy (ΔGf°)14
	(kcal/mol)	(kJ/mol)	(cal/K)	(J/K)	(kcal/mol)	(kJ/mol)
(s white)	0	0	12.32	51.54688	0	0
(s gray)	-0.50	-2.092	10.55	44.1412	0.03	0.12552
(g)	72.2	302.0848	40.243	168.376712	63.9	267.3576

Nuclide	Mass 15	Half-Life 15	Nuclear Spin 15	Binding Energy
100Sn	99.93904(76)	1.1(4) s [0.94(+54-27) s]	0+	824.83 MeV
101Sn	100.93606(32)#	3(1) s	5/2+#	841.29 MeV
102Sn	101.93030(14)	4.5(7) s	0+	849.36 MeV
103Sn	102.92810(32)#	7.0(6) s	5/2+#	866.75 MeV
104Sn	103.92314(11)	20.8(5) s	0+	874.82 MeV
105Sn	104.92135(9)	34(1) s	(5/2+)	882.89 MeV
106Sn	105.91688(5)	115(5) s	0+	900.28 MeV
107Sn	106.91564(9)	2.90(5) min	(5/2+)	908.35 MeV
108Sn	107.911925(21)	10.30(8) min	0+	916.42 MeV
109Sn	108.911283(11)	18.0(2) min	5/2(+)	924.49 MeV
110Sn	109.907843(15)	4.11(10) h	0+	941.88 MeV
111Sn	110.907734(7)	35.3(6) min	7/2+	949.95 MeV
112Sn	111.904818(5)	STABLE	0+	958.02 MeV
113Sn	112.905171(4)	115.09(3) d	1/2+	966.09 MeV
114Sn	113.902779(3)	STABLE	0+	974.16 MeV
115Sn	114.903342(3)	STABLE	1/2+	982.23 MeV
116Sn	115.901741(3)	STABLE	0+	990.30 MeV
117Sn	116.902952(3)	STABLE	1/2+	998.37 MeV
118Sn	117.901603(3)	STABLE	0+	1,006.45 MeV
119Sn	118.903308(3)	STABLE	1/2+	1,014.52 MeV
120Sn	119.9021947(27)	STABLE	0+	1,022.59 MeV
121Sn	120.9042355(27)	27.03(4) h	3/2+	1,030.66 MeV
122Sn	121.9034390(29)	STABLE	0+	1,038.73 MeV
123Sn	122.9057208(29)	129.2(4) d	11/2-	1,046.80 MeV
124Sn	123.9052739(15)	STABLE	0+	1,054.87 MeV
125Sn	124.9077841(16)	9.64(3) d	11/2-	1,062.95 MeV
126Sn	125.907653(11)	2.30(14)E+5 a	0+	1,071.02 MeV
127Sn	126.910360(26)	2.10(4) h	(11/2-)	1,069.77 MeV
128Sn	127.910537(29)	59.07(14) min	0+	1,077.84 MeV
129Sn	128.91348(3)	2.23(4) min	(3/2+)#	1,085.92 MeV
130Sn	129.913967(11)	3.72(7) min	0+	1,093.99 MeV
131Sn	130.917000(23)	56.0(5) s	(3/2+)	1,102.06 MeV
132Sn	131.917816(15)	39.7(8) s	0+	1,110.13 MeV
133Sn	132.92383(4)	1.45(3) s	(7/2-)#	1,108.89 MeV
134Sn	133.92829(11)	1.050(11) s	0+	1,116.96 MeV
135Sn	134.93473(43)#	530(20) ms	(7/2-)	1,115.71 MeV
136Sn	135.93934(54)#	0.25(3) s	0+	1,123.78 MeV
137Sn	136.94599(64)#	190(60) ms	5/2-#	1,122.54 MeV
99Sn	98.94933(64)#	5# ms	9/2+#	807.45 MeV
Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from systematic trends. Spins with weak assignment arguments are enclosed in parentheses. 15