The ancient world was familiar with the element antimony. An unknown alchemist had identified the element in the Middle Ages. Antimony is named after the Greek word ‘stibium’, which was the name of its compound known in the ancient times. Some say that antimony literally means ‘monk-killer’ as most early chemists were monks and the element was a notorious toxin that killed many who experimented with it.
Antimony is a silvery, lustrous grey metal. It is a rare element, but can sometimes be found naturally. When the element is crushed into powder, antimony expands as it becomes a brittle, silvery and hard solid. Do you know that a compound of antimony was used in ancient Egypt as a form of eyeliner known as kohl?
Antimony is used in the printing industry for type setting. The element is an important component in the production of batteries, bearings, and cable sheathing. The pure form of antimony is used to make certain types of semiconductor devices, such as diodes and infrared detectors. China is the top global producer of antimony, extracting between 84 per cent and 88 per cent of the supply. The atomic number of antimony is 51 and it is represented as Sb.
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