Antimony
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Antimony is a chemical element; it has symbol Sb (from Latin stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous grey metal or metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient times and were powdered for use as medicine and cosmetics, often known by the Arabic name kohl.[11] 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.
What is Antimony and its uses?
Antimony is a shiny silver metalloid, an element that’s almost but not quite a metal. It’s often used to harden and strengthen actual metals, like lead. And though it’s best known for its use in ammunition and flame retardants, it’s also in a long list of other products, including smartphones and batteries.
Antimony is used to increase the hardness of alloys, with lead alloys for batteries, with lead/copper/tin alloys for machine bearings. It is also used in automotive clutch and brake parts. The other major use is as antimony trioxide which is used for the production of flame retardant chemicals.