Element 49 · Post-Transition Metal
Indium
Indium is the soft metal that makes touchscreens work — every smartphone display has a thin layer of indium tin oxide.
Element Facts
SYMBOL
In
ATOMIC NO.
49
ATOMIC WEIGHT
114.82
CATEGORY
Post-Transition Metal
PERIOD
Period 5
GROUP
Group 13
History
Indium was discovered in 1863 by German chemists Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Theodor Richter while analysing zinc ore from the Freiberg mines in Saxony. Reich, who was colour-blind, asked Richter to examine the ore spectroscopically. Richter observed a brilliant indigo-blue spectral line unlike any known element and confirmed a new discovery. They named it indium after the colour of its spectral signature.
For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, indium was a minor curiosity with limited use. Its malleability made it useful as a soft bearing metal and electroplating agent, but demand was low. The metal was a by-product of zinc and lead smelting, recovered in tiny quantities.
The digital age transformed indium into an essential material. Indium tin oxide (ITO) — a transparent conducting film — became the standard coating for LCD screens, touchscreens, and flat-panel displays. Every smartphone, tablet, and flat-screen television contains indium. This single application now accounts for the majority of global indium consumption.
In Brief
Indium is element 49, a soft silvery post-transition metal that is rarer than silver. About 95% of global indium production is used as indium tin oxide (ITO), the transparent conductor coating on smartphone, tablet, laptop, and television screens. China dominates production with over 50% of global supply.
Uses Today
Indium tin oxide (ITO) coatings on touchscreens, LCD/OLED displays, and solar cells. Indium-bismuth low-melting-point alloys for fire protection sprinklers. Specialty solders for cryogenic and electronic applications.
Why We Don't Buy It
Why QuickStop Metals doesn’t buy Indium:
Indium recovery from end-of-life electronic displays requires highly specialised hydrometallurgical processing. The element exists in displays at concentrations below 1% — far too dilute for general scrap operations to recover economically. Indium recycling is concentrated at specialist e-waste processors. There is no consumer indium scrap market.
Value & Pricing
Indium metal prices have ranged from $200 to $400/kg over 2021–2026.