Antimony

Antimony is a chemical element; it has symbol Sb (from Latin stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray 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. The earliest known description of the metalloid in the West was written in 1540 by Vannoccio Biringuccio.

Not to be confused with antinomy or antiphony.
This article is about the element. For other uses, see Antimony (disambiguation).

Antimony, 51Sb
Antimony
Pronunciation
  • UK: /ˈæntɪməni/
    (AN-tə-mə-nee)
  • US: /ˈæntɪmoʊni/
    (AN-tə-moh-nee)
Appearancesilvery lustrous gray
Standard atomic weight Ar°(Sb)
Antimony in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium
Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon
Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton
Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon
Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon
Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson
 As
↑
Sb
↓
Bi
tin ← antimony → tellurium
Atomic number (Z)51
Groupgroup 15 (pnictogens)
Periodperiod 5
Block  p-block
Electron configuration[Kr] 4d10 5s2 5p3
Electrons per shell2, 8, 18, 18, 5
Physical properties
Phase at STPsolid
Melting point903.78 K ​(630.63 °C, ​1167.13 °F)
Boiling point1908 K ​(1635 °C, ​2975 °F)
Density (near r.t.)6.697 g/cm3
when liquid (at m.p.)6.53 g/cm3
Heat of fusion19.79 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization193.43 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity25.23 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure
P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k
at T (K) 807 876 1011 1219 1491 1858
Atomic properties
Oxidation states−3, −2, −1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4, +5 (an amphoteric oxide)
ElectronegativityPauling scale: 2.05
Ionization energies
  • 1st: 834 kJ/mol
  • 2nd: 1594.9 kJ/mol
  • 3rd: 2440 kJ/mol
  • (more)
Atomic radiusempirical: 140 pm
Covalent radius139±5 pm
Van der Waals radius206 pm
Spectral lines of antimony
Other properties
Natural occurrenceprimordial
Crystal structure ​rhombohedral
Thermal expansion11 µm/(m⋅K) (at 25 °C)
Thermal conductivity24.4 W/(m⋅K)
Electrical resistivity417 nΩ⋅m (at 20 °C)
Magnetic orderingdiamagnetic
Molar magnetic susceptibility−99.0×10−6 cm3/mol
Young's modulus55 GPa
Shear modulus20 GPa
Bulk modulus42 GPa
Speed of sound thin rod3420 m/s (at 20 °C)
Mohs hardness3.0
Brinell hardness294–384 MPa
CAS Number7440-36-0
History
DiscoveryArabic alchemists (before AD 815)
Symbol"Sb": from Latin stibium 'stibnite'
Isotopes of antimony
Main isotopes Decay
abun­dance half-life (t1/2) mode pro­duct
121Sb 57.2% stable
123Sb 42.8% stable
125Sb synth 2.7576 y β− 125Te

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 largest 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.

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