Periodic Table

Tin

Post Transition Metal

Quick Facts about Tin

In
  • solid- state of matter at room temperature
  • Stable- has at least one stable isotope
  • +4, +2- common oxidation states in compounds
  • TET- crystal structure, atomic arrangement in solid form
Sb

Tin (Sn) is element 50 on the periodic table. Atomic mass of Sn: 118.7100 u. Sn is in period 5, group 14. Melting point of Sn: 505.08 K.Density of Sn: 7.26 g/cm³.

Why Tin Matters

The Bronze Age metal that changed civilization—and crumbles in the cold

In Your Home

  • 'Tin' cans are steel with a microscopically thin tin coating for food safety
  • Every solder joint in your electronics contains tin
  • Your windows were made floating on molten tin (float glass process)
  • Bronze doorknobs, bells, and cymbals are copper-tin alloys

Industry Uses

ElectronicsLead-free solder (Sn-Ag-Cu) connects nearly every circuit board component
GlassFloat glass: molten glass floats on liquid tin to create perfectly flat sheets
PackagingTin-plated steel protects food from corrosion and contamination
AlloysBronze (Cu-Sn), pewter, Babbitt metal for bearings, organ pipes

In Your Body

✗ Not essential

No known essential role. Very low toxicity as metal. Organotin compounds can be toxic and were used as biocides.

Safety: Metallic tin is non-toxic—that's why it's used for food cans. Some organic tin compounds are toxic.

Discovery of Tin

Discovered by Known to the ancients.,

Name origin: Named after Etruscan god, Tinia; symbol from Latin: stannum (tin).

History & Events

3000 BCE
Bronze Age
Tin combined with copper created bronze, revolutionizing tools and weapons
1810
Tin Can Invented
Peter Durand patented the tin can, revolutionizing food preservation
1839
Tin Pest Discovery
Chemists explained 'tin pest'—tin crumbles at cold temperatures (below 13°C)

Why "Sn" for Tin?

SnStannum(Latin)

The symbol Sn comes from "Stannum," the Latin word for tin. The English name "Tin" comes from Old English and Germanic origins, with cognates in several European languages.

About Tin

Silvery malleable metallic element belonging to group 14 of the periodic table. Has 10 stable isotopes—the most of any element—due to tin's 'magic number' of 50 protons. 42 isotopes are known in total. Chemically reactive. Combines directly with chlorine and oxygen and displaces hydrogen from dilute acids.

Atomic Properties of Sn

Atomic Number of Sn
50
Atomic Mass of Sn
118.7100 u
Electron Configuration
[Kr] 4d10 5s2 5p2
Electronegativity
1.96
Block
p-block
Group
14
Period
5

Physical Properties of Sn

Phase (STP)
solid
Melting Point of Sn
505.08 K
Boiling Point of Sn
2875.00 K
Density of Sn
7.2650 g/cm3

Thermal Properties

Heat of Fusion
7.07 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization
296.00 kJ/mol
Specific Heat
0.23 J/g·K
Molar Heat Capacity
26.99 J/mol·K
Thermal Conductivity
66.80 W/m·K

Atomic Radii

Calculated
145 pm
Covalent
140 pm
Van der Waals
217 pm
Metallic
142 pm

Common Misconceptions

Wrong:Tin cans are made of tin.
Correct:Modern 'tin' cans are steel with a thin tin coating (about 0.15%). The tin just prevents corrosion.
Wrong:Tin foil is still used.
Correct:Aluminum foil replaced tin foil by mid-20th century. 'Tin foil' is now just a colloquial term.
Wrong:Bronze Age came before Copper Age.
Correct:Copper was used first (Chalcolithic). Bronze (copper+tin) came later when tin sources were found.

Allotropes of Tin

Tin exists in 2 different structural forms (allotropes), each with unique properties.

White Tin (β-Sn)

Common metallic form we use daily

Structure:Tetragonal crystal structure
Properties:Malleable, silvery metal, stable above 13.2°C
Uses:Tin cans, solder, bronze, pewter

Gray Tin (α-Sn)

Brittle powder form - 'tin pest' or 'tin disease'

Structure:Diamond cubic structure (like silicon)
Properties:Semiconductor, stable below 13.2°C, crumbles to powder
Napoleon's army buttons allegedly crumbled in Russian winter due to tin pest!

Isotopes of Tin

Tin has 10 naturally occurring isotopes.

IsotopeAtomic Mass (u)AbundanceHalf-LifeDecay Mode
11250Sn (Sn-112)Tin-112 isotope111.90482390.9700%
11450Sn (Sn-114)Tin-114 isotope113.90278270.6600%
11550Sn (Sn-115)Tin-115 isotope114.90334470.3400%
11650Sn (Sn-116)Tin-116 isotope115.901742814.54%
11750Sn (Sn-117)Tin-117 isotope116.9029547.680%
11850Sn (Sn-118)Tin-118 isotope117.901606624.22%
11950Sn (Sn-119)Tin-119 isotope118.90331128.590%
12050Sn (Sn-120)Tin-120 isotope119.902201632.58%
12250Sn (Sn-122)Tin-122 isotope121.90344384.630%
12450Sn (Sn-124)Tin-124 isotope123.90527665.790%

Data source: NIH PubChem (aggregated from IUPAC, NIST)

Isotope Applications

Isotopes of Tin have important real-world applications in science and industry.

Medical Applications

117ᵐSn-DTPA (half-life 14 days) is used for bone imaging and treating bone pain from metastatic cancer. The metastable 117ᵐSn causes less damage to healthy tissue and bone marrow than other radionuclides, making it useful for rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

Abundance

Earth's Crust
2.3 mg/kg
Seawater
4.00×10-6 mg/L

Uses

Used as a coating for steel cans since it is nontoxic and noncorrosive. Also in solder (33%Sn:67%Pb), bronze (20%Sn:80%Cu), and pewter. Stannous fluoride (SnF2), a compound of tin and fluorine is used in some toothpaste.

Sources

Principally found in the ore cassiterite(SnO2) and stannine (Cu2FeSnS4).

Geochemistry

Goldschmidt
chalcophile

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