Cassiterite is its main ore. This element is obtained from the mineral cassiterite in which it occurs as tin dioxide or tin IV oxide.
This ore is crushed and enriched in tin dioxide by flotation, then roasted and heated with coke in a reverberatory furnace to obtain the metal. The use of tin began in the Balkans and the Near East around 2000 BC, being used in an alloy with copper to create bronze and giving rise to the famous Bronze Age.
The importance of the new alloy with which are made tools and weapons of greater efficiency than those of bone or stone that existed at that time, gave rise in antiquity to an intense trade over long distances with the localities in which there were tin deposits. .
Contents
Electron configuration of tin
Properties of tin
Pewter is generally a white metal, although it has an allotropic variant in which its color changes to gray. It has malleability, it oxidizes superficially at room temperature. This effect provides corrosion resistance through passivation, which is why it is used for coating other metals and protecting against corrosion.
Pewter is found in many alloys. When a bar of this metal is bent, a characteristic sound is produced which is called the cry of tin, which is the result of the friction of the crystals that are part of it. One of the most unique characteristics of this element is that, under certain thermal conditions, it suffers from what is known as tin plague.
Pure tin has two allotropic variants which are:
- Tin Grey: This is a non-metallic semiconductor powder, with a stable, cubic structure at temperatures below 13.2 degrees Celsius. It is very fragile and its specific gravity is lower than the target.
- White tin: Metallic, normal, conductor of electricity, its structure is stable and tetragonal. Their temperatures are above 13.2 degrees Celsius.
Pewter Uses and Applications
- It is used to minimize the fragility of the glass.
- It is used to protect steel, iron and various metals used in the creation of cans.
- It is used for the creation of tin, bronze and copper alloys.
- Tin compounds are used in dyes, fungicides, pigments and toothpastes.
- Pewter is used in alloy with lead to create plates in tubes that have musical organs.
- In lead alloy, it is useful for soft soldering.
- Coat the steel.
- It is used in labels.
- Pewter is used in corking wine bottles in capsule form. This use spread after the prohibition of lead in food industries. Spain is one of the countries that largely manufacture pewter caps.
- It is also used in the ceramics industry to create ceramic glazes. This is used to opacify top and bottom. In the case of high, the percentage ratio is higher than in the low temperature.
- It is used as a filler material for soft soldering with soldering iron, alloyed or pure.