Physical Characteristics of Indium

Indium is a very soft, silvery-white, relatively rare true metal with a bright luster. When it is bent, indium emits a high-pitched "cry". Like gallium, indium is able to wet glass. Indium has a low melting point, compared to those of most other metals, 156.60 °C (313.88 °F); it is higher than that of its lighter homologue, gallium, but lower than that of the heavier homologue, thallium. Its boiling point is, however, moderate, being 2072 °C (3762 °F), which is higher than that of thallium, but lower than that of gallium, showing opposition to melting points trend. The density of indium, 7.31 g·cm−3, is also higher than that of gallium, but lower than that of thallium.

An indium atom has 49 electrons, having an electronic configuration of [Kr]4d105s25p1. In its compounds, indium most commonly loses its three outermost electrons, becoming indium(III) ions, In3+, but in some cases the pair of 5s-electrons can stay within the atom, indium thus oxidized only to indium(I), In+. This happens due to inert pair effect, which occurs because of stabilization of 5s-orbital due to relativistic effects, which are stronger closer to the bottom of the periodic table. Thallium shows an even stronger effect, making oxidation to thallium(I) more likely than to thallium(III), making +1 the more likely oxidation state.

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