Energy & Green Tech

Molecular coating enhances organic solar cells

An electrode coating just one molecule thick can significantly enhance the performance of an organic photovoltaic cell, KAUST researchers have found. The coating outperforms the leading material currently used for this task ...

Energy & Green Tech

A touch of zirconium to better catch the sun

Transparent conductive films that let through a broader range of the solar spectrum have been developed by KAUST and are set to increase the power conversion efficiency of perovskite-based multijunction solar cells beyond ...

Engineering

Researchers develop technique to de-ice surfaces in seconds

Airplane wings, wind turbines and indoor heating systems all struggle under the weight and chill of ice. De-icing techniques are energy-intensive, however, and often require large masses of ice to melt completely in order ...

Energy & Green Tech

NREL identifies where new solar technologies can be flexible

Rigid silicon solar panels dominate the utility and residential markets, but opportunity exists for thin-film photovoltaic and emerging technologies notable for being lightweight and flexible, according to scientists at the ...

Engineering

Kateeva coating could finally give us bendable displays

A new startup based in Menlo Park, California called Kateeva might have solved one of the problems that is keeping manufacturers from selling us portable devices with bendable displays. They've developed a coating process ...

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Indium

Indium ( /ˈɪndiəm/ in-dee-əm) is a chemical element with the symbol In and atomic number 49. This rare, very soft, malleable and easily fusible post-transition metal is chemically similar to gallium and thallium, and shows the intermediate properties between these two. Indium was discovered in 1863 and named for the indigo blue line in its spectrum that was the first indication of its existence in zinc ores, as a new and unknown element. The metal was first isolated in the following year. Zinc ores continue to be the primary source of indium, where it is found in compound form. Very rarely the element can be found as grains of native (free) metal, but these are not of commercial importance.

Indium's current primary application is to form transparent electrodes from indium tin oxide in liquid crystal displays and touchscreens, and this use largely determines its global mining production. It is widely used in thin-films to form lubricated layers (during World War II it was widely used to coat bearings in high-performance aircraft). It is also used for making particularly low melting point alloys, and is a component in some lead-free solders.

Indium is not known to be used by any organism. In a similar way to aluminium salts, indium(III) ions can be toxic to the kidney when given by injection, but oral indium compounds do not have the chronic toxicity of salts of heavy metals, probably due to poor absorption in basic conditions. Radioactive indium-111 (in very small amounts on a chemical basis) is used in nuclear medicine tests, as a radiotracer to follow the movement of labeled proteins and white blood cells in the body.

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